Shadowed Star Cries
by Ambermist-29Down
Summary: Lionpaw is having dreams he can't understand, and when Jaypaw can't interperet them, he doesn't know what to do. As he struggles, Honeypaw helps him see things more clearly, but is in love with Heatherpaw. Will his Clan find out about their secret meeting
1. Chapter 1

Warriors

A Starlit Path

Prologue:

Lionpaw stared up at the night sky as he sat at the entrance of the cave. His and Heatherpaw's cave. The sky was a ribbon of starlight. He sighed and thought about the most beautiful cat he had ever known… Heatherpaw.

Just then, a noise sounded behind him. He spun around. It was Heatherpaw. "Heatherpaw," he purred, bounding up to her and pressing his cheek against her own. Lionpaw was surprised when she didn't purr back. He stepped back and looked at her…

Suddenly, Heatherpaw flung herself at Lionpaw. Lionpaw fell back and Heatherpaw scored her claws along his flank. "Heatherpaw! What are you doing?!" Lionpaw meowed, pushing her back. She flung at him again and then a bright light shined. It was then when he saw that the cat that was attacking him was not Heatherpaw.

"Breezepaw!" Lionpaw spat, and before he could push back Breezepaw, the bright light shined on him. Breezepaw then turned and fled into the darkness where a cat stood. Lionpaw knew this cast was Heatherpaw. Her beautiful eyes glowed with sadness and longing. "Lionpaw… come with me…" the she-cat mewed, but Lionpaw could barely hear her. Her voice was barely a whisper…

"Heatherpaw!" he shouted. The bright light came from under him. He was walking on a path of light. Breezepaw stood beside Heatherpaw and suddenly, they became one cat. Lionpaw stared in puzzlement and fear. Suddenly, he felt pain all over his body. There were cats… invisible cats fighting him. "Help!" he shouted. He lashed out and felt the skin of cats with the scent of ThunderClan blood.

"Lionpaw! Lionpaw!" he heard Heatherpaw's voice ring through the air. He tried to follow her voice, but the path had begun to move. He felt cats clawing him and hurting him. He fought, but realized he couldn't defeat all of these invisible cats.

When he stopped, the pain and clawing suddenly began to die away. He felt sore, but the only place he felt sore was his heart. The moving row of light suddenly became dark and he saw Heatherpaw again.

"Heatherpaw!" he shouted. "Lionpaw," he murmured warmly. She pressed her fur against his. But then he saw another cat amid the mist. She smelled of ThunderClan and had tortoiseshell fur. He smelled blood too. "Danger…." the tortoiseshell cat mewed. "Beware…." she mewed.

"Don't go there Lionpaw. You heard her, there's danger," mewed Heatherpaw. But Lionpaw was drawn to the place the tortoiseshell she-cat was warning him about. He turned to Heatherpaw and said, "I have to check it out." Heatherpaw then disappeared.

Lionpaw called her name over and over again, and when she didn't come, he bounded towards the ThunderClan scent. He was suddenly in darkness. He heard the frantic and angry voices of his clan mates. He felt their pelts around him, but he felt… content.

He then saw a light… a light that was the color of heather. He began to go to it, but was losing the feeling of content he had. "Heatherpaw?" he called, scenting the beautiful she-cat. "Lionpaw!" Heatherpaw shouted, her voice filled with pain, hurt and emotion.

"Heatherpaw!"

**CHAPTER 1:**

"Lionpaw, wake up!" Lionpaw lifted his head and blinked his eyes open. Hollypaw was staring at him with anger in her eyes. It was night. Lionpaw realized he had been sleeping and was dreaming that dream for the third time now.

"You were shouting Heatherpaw's name again," his sister hissed. "You're lucky I was awake to make you stop," she snarled at him. Lionpaw stretched and sighed. "It's the third time you know," he murmured. Hollypaw's eyes softened a bit. "I know," she meowed. "Do you think it's a sign from StarClan?" she asked him.

"I don't know," Lionpaw admitted. "If it is, I don't understand it. How could it be anyways?" he murmured in puzzlement. Hollypaw shrugged, trying to shake it off. "Let's just go back to sleep," she mewed to him, lying down beside him.

Lionpaw nodded in agreement and sighed. He laid his head down and tried to go back to sleep and when he did, he slept peacefully. No dreams of Heatherpaw entered his mind.

Sunshine peeked through the entrance of the apprentice den. Lionpaw rose and quickly groomed his fur. "Hey Lionpaw, Ashfur says that you and him are coming with Sandstorm, Birchfall and I on the hunting patrol," said a familiar and friendly voice.

Lionpaw nodded to Honeypaw who flicked her tail and then darted back out of the den. He padded out behind her and saw Birchfall eating a mouse. Honeypaw joined him and he padded over to Jaypaw for a quick word.

"Hey Lionpaw," Jaypaw meowed in his usual voice… revealing no friendliness, nor revealing any unfriendliness. Jaypaw's attitude would always be a surprise everyday. "What's up?" Jaypaw murmured. "I've been having this dream… three times in a row," he mewed to his brother. He had caught Jaypaw's attention. His brother's eyes showed concern, even though his brother was blind.

"Lionpaw, come along. We're leaving for the patrol," Sandstorm called from across the clearing. Jaypaw shook his head. "I've got to go and get herbs for Leafpool anyways. Poppypaw has a cough and Thornclaw has got a thorn in his pad," he mewed. "Tell me when I get back," he mewed. Lionpaw nodded. "Okay. See you later," Lionpaw meowed and bounded over to Ashfur.

"Sandstorm says Honeypaw caught enough prey to feed the whole Clan the other day. She's coming along great," he mewed. "I told her you could beat her any time. If you're up for it, you two could have a contest of who could catch the most prey today," Ashfur meowed. Lionpaw instantly brightened. He nodded eagerly. "I'll show Sandstorm and Honeypaw that I can beat both of them," he said, not meaning it in a boasting way.

"We'll see about that!" challenged Honeypaw, coming up behind Lionpaw and butting him in the shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at her playfully. "What _you're _going to see from me is lessons. I'll show you how to hunt the real way… like a warrior," he hissed. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she growled, her eyes teasing him.

They entered the hunting grounds and Lionpaw got a strong whiff of WindClan. Ashfur and Sandstorm exchanged a glance. Birchfall lifted his head and scented the air while Honeypaw looked around curiously. "Why do I smell WindClan?" Honeypaw hissed. Lionpaw then saw a patrol containing Berrynose, Brackenthorn, Hazelpaw, Dustpelt, and Hollypaw rushing over to the border.

"We shouldn't worry. If the patrol needs help, we'll have one of you stay and hunt closer to the border," Sandstorm meowed, watching as the patrol raced by. Honeypaw tilted her head to one side. Lionpaw could see she was confused about WindClan scent so nearby.

"I'll be the one to hunt closer to the border," Lionpaw offered. Birchfall then mewed to Honeypaw, "Then you'll be hunting on the other side. I'll be hunting closer to camp with Sandstorm and Ashfur. Report back to us by the entrance of camp at mid-day," he said to the apprentices.

Honeypaw and Lionpaw nodded.

Immediately, Lionpaw darted towards the WindClan border. He could scent WindClan. He came to the little river and scented the air. He could scent a starling and a chaffinch, but he wanted to see Heatherpaw.

He then saw something in the distance. It was a light brown tabby with those beautiful eyes. She was racing towards the border. "Heatherpaw!" he shouted. The beautiful apprentice raced forward and tumbled to the ground, her pelt matted with blood. She collapsed and didn't move…

"Heatherpaw!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lionpaw jumped into the river and swam across the river and climbed onto the other side of the border. He came to Heatherpaw's side and pressed against her body. "Heatherpaw, Heatherpaw wake up," he meowed frantically. He licked her vigorously. Heatherpaw stirred. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Lionpaw… RiverClan… ambush," she murmured. He gasped. He scented the air and scented the air and realized he scented blood. He said, "Heatherpaw, I need you to get up. I need to get you back to ThunderClan. We can help you." Heatherpaw forced her eyes open and tried to sit up. She managed and Lionpaw let her lean on him.

"Let's go through the tunnels," he meowed. "T-thanks Lionpaw," she whispered, leaning on his shoulder as they headed towards the tunnels. When they got there, they crawled through the dark eerie tunnels they would meet in at night all of the time. Lionpaw suddenly got the feeling that he had when he was in his dream. Was this what his dream had meant? But how could it have been? Nothing had pointed to this… or did it? He shook his head. This wasn't the time to be thinking about silly dreams…

They came out of the tunnels and into ThunderClan territory. The sun warmed his pelt, but he didn't really notice because he was trying to hurry Heatherpaw to the camp. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes. He told Heatherpaw to stay put as he went and investigated really quick. He peered through the bushes and gasped when he saw what was going to crash into him.

A second later, a golden brown tabby was on top of him. "Lionpaw, what are you doing-" Honeypaw cut off when she saw Heatherpaw. "What is she doing here?" she asked, her voice filled with more concern than anger, seeing the beautiful apprentice's bad condition. Honeypaw got off of Lionpaw. Lionpaw got up. "RiverClan has ambushed WindClan. Heatherpaw was injured. I guess RiverClan was making WindClan fight closer to our border and that's why their scent was strong," he explained. Honeypaw padded over to Heatherpaw. She scented her and said, "We need to get her to Jaypaw and Leafpool."

Lionpaw was glad Honeypaw understood and they both helped the WindClan she-cat up. Heatherpaw moaned in pain. "Don't worry, Heatherpaw. I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered to her, but was loud enough for Honeypaw to hear. He suddenly realized what he had said and couldn't take it back. Honeypaw gave him a confused look, but only for a second because a second later, Berrynose came bounding over to them, but hadn't seen Heatherpaw until now. "What's she doing here?" he hissed as soon as he caught sight of her. "She's hurt, we need to get her to camp so we can treat her wounds," Lionpaw told Berrynose.

Honeypaw hissed to cut off what Berrynose was about to say when he opened his mouth to argue. "Do you want her to die or not!" the golden she-cat snapped. Berrynose was hesitant and then beckoned for them to go on. "I assume you two already know that RiverClan is ambushing WindClan close to our border," Berrynose meowed to them. Honeypaw and Lionpaw nodded. "Has Firestar said anything about helping them?" Lionpaw asked. "Not yet, but I'm sure he'll send out cats to fight both Clans away from the border," Berrynose hissed. "Or at least fight RiverClan out and tell WindClan to get away from our border," Berrynose meowed.

Lionpaw nodded and then he and Honeypaw turned and made it to ThunderClan camp. He let out a meow, letting everyone know they had returned with someone important. Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Leafpool and Jaypaw rushed over to them. "Who is this?" asked Leafpool, her voice full of concern. "This is Heatherpaw," Lionpaw mewed. "She's from WindClan," Honeypaw meowed, a bit uneasily. Firestar bounded down from his den, followed by Whitewing, Ashfur and Millie. Lionpaw guessed that they were heading to the border. "Brambleclaw, I'm taking Ashfur, Whitewing and Millie to order the Clans away from our border," he mewed to his deputy and then saw Heatherpaw. Lionpaw told his leader the whole story and Firestar nodded. "Leafpool, help her. We can let her die," he meowed. "Don't worry, she won't," Jaypaw meowed to Firestar. The ThunderClan leader nodded and headed out of the camp.

Lionpaw and Leafpool laid Heatherpaw down in the medicine den. "Oh, Heatherpaw, please be okay," he whispered. "Lionpaw?" someone asked him from behind. He spun around to see Cinderpaw standing there. "Brambleclaw came to tell me that he wants you, me and Honeypaw to go and hunt. Because of the conflict between WindClan and RiverClan, there hasn't been much prey brought back to the camp," she told him, staring at him suspiciously. He gulped. Had she suspected that he loved Heatherpaw? Before the gray apprentice could say anything, he nodded and fled the medicine den. "Lionpaw I wanted so say…." Honeypaw was cut off as he raced towards the WindClan border. RiverClan would pay for what they did to Heatherpaw!

Honeypaw watched as Lionpaw raced out of camp. She sighed when he didn't listen to what she wanted to say to him. She shrugged her shoulders and bounded with her sister into the forest. She scented prey and soon hunted two mice, a chaffinch, and a water shrew. Cinderpaw had killed a squirrel, a starling and a vole. "Hey, do think Lionpaw has caught anything?" Cinderpaw asked suspiciously. "Yeah, why?" Honeypaw asked. "Well, he raced out of camp like a bat out of darkness and headed straight for the WindClan border. And… he was talking so sweetly and softly to that WindClan apprentice," Cinderpaw explained. "Heatherpaw?" Honeypaw asked. Cinderpaw nodded. Honeypaw thought for a second. "I don't think so. Lionpaw wouldn't betray his Clan," she said convincingly. _I hope not, _she mentally said to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lionpaw reached the border. ThunderClan cats were fighting both RiverClan and WindClan, but mostly RiverClan. Lionpaw could see that the ThunderClan cat, his clan mates, weren't hurting the WindClan cats. Just merely scratches, but not anything that would need the attention of a medicine cat. "Firestar wants to help WindClan, but also wants both Clans away from the border," Lionpaw murmured. He felt admiration for his grandfather. He was smart, but kind… however also wanted what was best for the Clan and was willing to fight his friends to keep the Clan safe.

Suddenly, he remembered Heatherpaw and felt uneasy. Would he fight Heatherpaw in battle if he had to? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to help them fight. He raced into the clearing and lunged at a RiverClan warrior. He sank his claws into his back and sank his teeth into the back of his neck. "Hey, got off of me, you stupid cat!" spat the black RiverClan tom. Lionpaw jumped back just as the tom swung his claws at Lionpaw's body. "Ah… Lionpaw," the black tom hissed. "Reedwhisker," Lionpaw spat, the two toms glaring at each other. Reedwhisker scored his claws along Lionpaw's flank and lunged at Lionpaw, but Lionpaw remembered the badger technique that Ashfur had taught him with help from Tigerstar. He leaped up and twisted in the air over Reedwhisker and came down, scoring Reedwhisker deep in the flank with his claw. Blood seeped quickly out of Reedwhisker's flank, but the tom pinned Lionpaw down. Lionpaw lifted his head and bit deep in Reedwhisker's neck. With his back legs, he clawed his belly and then pushed his body to the side with his hind paws while still holding onto his neck.

Reedwhisker yowled and Lionpaw felt the tom's blood coming out. He let go and clawed Reedwhisker's face, but the tom bit Lionpaw's paw and he bit it deep. Lionpaw yowled in pain and with his other paw scored his claws down his face again, blood spattering onto the ground from the black tom's nose. Reedwhisker lie on the ground, giving up. Lionpaw hissed and turned. He saw the she-cat Minnowpaw tearing at Poppypaw's throat. Poppypaw unsheathed her claws and swung her paw with great force across the side of her face.

Lionpaw spat and pinned Minnowpaw down and sank his teeth into her neck. Poppypaw took a deep breath and bit her shoulder. Minnowpaw squealed and when Lionpaw loosened his grip, she clawed his face and hissed at Poppypaw. Then, she turned tail and ran away. Poppypaw gave Lionpaw a curt nod of gratitude and bounded over to Berrynose to help him fight of Beechfur. Suddenly, there was a loud yowl. "RiverClan, retreat, now," Leopardstar yowled. Lionpaw saw Rippletail running and he chased her and she ran faster. He hissed and gave a nod of satisfaction and turned to see Graystripe running towards him. "Lionpaw, you look like a bloody rabbit. Come and see Leafpool. Firestar would like to talk to you too," he meowed, saying the last part more seriously.

He remembered that he was supposed to go hunting and felt embarrassed. It would be his fault if there wasn't enough fresh-kill to feed the Clan. But then he thought about Honeypaw and Cinderpaw. They were great hunters. He suspected the two she-cats had caught a lot. Well… he hoped. He padded back to Firestar, who was talking sternly to Onestar and Ashfoot. Lionpaw guessed that Firestar was telling them that they were happy to help, but to go home and away from ThunderClan.

Heatherpaw blinked her eyes open. She didn't recognize anything. She then smelled ThunderClan. She suddenly saw a fluffy gray apprentice with familiar blue eyes. She also saw a pretty light brown tabby. "I'm in the ThunderClan medicine den, aren't I?" she asked, remembering vividly how Lionpaw and a golden brown she-cat had taken her through ThunderClan territory. "Yes, you are," the brown she-cat told her. "I'm Leafpool, the ThunderClan medicine cat. This is Jaypaw… I assume you already know him," she mewed kindly. Heatherpaw nodded. Jaypaw gave her a curt nod.

"You were badly injured in the battle. We treated you with some herbs. I'm sure that someone from your Clan will come and pick you up. Maybe your mentor," Leafpool said. Heatherpaw was surprised when she heard a tiny bit of longing in her voice. She shrugged it off. "Thank you," she mewed. Jaypaw and Leafpool nodded. "Don't worry. We couldn't let you die," Jaypaw said half-heartedly. "I was that close to dieing?" she asked, a little shaken. Leafpool cuffed Jaypaw playfully around the ear. Jaypaw hissed and Leafpool shook her head. "Jaypaw's exaggerating. However, you _were_ badly injured," she said. "You have the energy to make it back to your camp, although, you might want to stay in the medicine den for at least a day," Leafpool told her. "And be sure to put marigold or goldenrod on your wounds. And cobwebs in case the start bleeding again," Jaypaw said, a little too seriously.

Heatherpaw nodded and tried to stand, but felt weak, so she lay back down. "Just rest, young one," Leafpool meowed to Heatherpaw.

Honeypaw saw Lionpaw enter the ThunderClan camp. His golden pelt shone brightly in the beautiful clearing. Colorful flowers speckled the grassy ground, but he stood out because his pelt was covered with blood. "Lionpaw!" she breathed. She and Hazelcloud padded over to him. "Are you alright?" Hazelcloud asked him. Honeypaw looked him up and down with concern. "I'm fine. How's Heatherpaw doing?" he asked, trying to sound not so interested in the WindClan she-cat. "She's doing fine, but, Lionpaw, why did you go to the battle. We were supposed to hunt," she told him, her voice filling with anger. "Look at you, you're hurt!" she hissed. "Great StarClan, back off, Honeypaw! You're not my mother!" he spat at her. She took a step back, feeling completely taken aback. Lionpaw pushed past her and headed to the medicine den.

Hazelcloud looked from Lionpaw to Honeypaw. "Oh, Honeypaw, I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's probably tired from the battle," the gray and white she-cat told her. Honeypaw just shook her head. "It's okay, I'm fine. Will you come and help me go back out and get the rest of the fresh-kill?" she asked. Hazelcloud gave Honeypaw a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I promised I would have something to eat with Whitewing and Ashfur," she meowed. Honeypaw nodded. "Okay, never mind, then," she meowed and looked around to see who could help her, but sighed when she saw that everyone was occupied, doing something. She then began bounding towards the camp entrance and headed out into the forest, the sun setting among the far mountains


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Heatherpaw lifted her head when she heard someone coming into the medicine den. It was Lionpaw. "Lionpaw!" she exclaimed, but wished she hadn't said it with so much excitement. But to her relief, Leafpool was outside and Jaypaw only looked up and gave a curt nod to his brother and then went back to sorting herbs. It had been a long time since she and Lionpaw had found the caves. They were both close to earning their warrior names, but since the caves had flooded, it had been harder to see each other after they decided to get back together. She was kind of glad too, because both of them were lacking their skills in hunting, fighting and a lot of other things, but was also sad because she would like to see him more. Now, she could see him without hiding. She hoped she didn't have to leave too soon.

Lionpaw purred and bounded up to her. "How are you doing?" he asked. "Fine," she mewed with a sigh. "Leafpool says I have to rest for a day or two, but I'm alright," she told him. Jaypaw, unaware of Lionpaw and Heatherpaw's affection for each other came up to his brother and said, "Can you watch her for a while. I need to go and get some Juniper and Marigold. I'll be right back, though. If you need to leave, tell Leafpool or Brightheart," he told his brother. Lionpaw nodded. "It's okay. I'm sure I have nothing else planned for the day," he meowed. Jaypaw nodded and then padded out of the den. "So," he purred. "How is everything in WindClan?" he asked. "Very good…. that is, until RiverClan wanted some of our territory," she mewed quietly. "Why did they want your territory?" he asked. "There's a large pond near the border we share and there is tiny fish in there. They spotted Harepaw and Breezepaw trying to fish, and they decided that it should be theirs. Especially when they saw that there were also herbs there that are for water sickness. We've never had that case before and they have, so that's the other reason they wanted the territory," she explained.

She looked at him and said, "Thank you," in her soft sweet voice. "I couldn't have done it without Honeypaw," he said and remembered how harshly he had spoken to her and suddenly felt a jab of guilt. Heatherpaw tilted her head to one side. "Honeypaw…. was she the golden brown tabby that helped you get me here?" she asked. Lionpaw nodded. "Wow, tell her I said thanks," Heatherpaw mewed. Lionpaw just stared at the ground. "Lionpaw, what's wrong?" Heatherpaw asked. Lionpaw shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What… oh, yeah. I'm fine," he meowed. Suddenly, Leafpool entered the medicine den. A sleek dark gray, almost black tom followed her. "Crowfeather!" Heatherpaw exclaimed, looking at her mentor with happiness. "Heatherpaw, are you alright?" he asked her. The she-cat nodded. Crowfeather looked at Leafpool and Lionpaw sensed something between the Medicine Cat and the WindClan warrior.

"Thanks, Leafpool," the warrior said uncomfortably. "Your welcome, Crowfeather," Leafpool mewed softly. The two cats' eyes met for a brief, but warm moment. Lionpaw was confused, but shook his head. He looked at Heatherpaw, the beautiful brown tabby that he loved and wished she could stay longer, but he knew she would have to go back to her Clan sometime. Crowfeather looked at his apprentice. "I brought Mosspelt to help me get you back to our camp," he told her. She nodded. Lionpaw helped her stand, but after that, Crowfeather and a small tortoiseshell and white she-cat, which he was sure was Mosspelt, helped Heatherpaw. Lionpaw and Leafpool saw the three to the camp entrance and over to the border. Heatherpaw looked back at Lionpaw and whispered to him. "Thank you so much." They then left, much to his disappointment. He knew he couldn't sneak out to see her either because of her injuries. He'd have to wait a few days until he could sneak out to the clearing to see her again. He sighed and watched them leave and go into their own territory.

"Come, Lionpaw. Let's get back to camp," his aunt said to him. Leafpool was his mother, Squirrelflight's, sister. When they reached camp, Squirrelflight and Lionpaw's father Brambleclaw, came up to him. "Lionpaw, Firestar wants you to have an assessment!" Squirrelflight said excitedly. Brambleclaw nodded, his amber eyes filled with pride. "You and Hollypaw," Brambleclaw told him. His heart skipped a beat. He and his sister were going to perform their skills so Firestar could see if they were ready to become Warriors. "Leafpool is going to give Jaypaw an assessment so he can become a full medicine cat," Squirrelflight added. "That's amazing," he purred. "Does Hollypaw know?" he asked. His parents shook their heads. "I'll go tell her," he mewed and ran over to his sister, who was sharing tongues with Cinderpaw. "Hollypaw!" he exclaimed to his sister. Her pure black pelt shone brightly in the afternoon sun. Cinderpaw's dark gray fur glowed too. He explained everything Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw had told him.

"Yes!!!" she exclaimed, jumping in the air. Cinderpaw congratulated them. She, Honeypaw and Poppypaw had already had their assessments and were expected to become warriors soon, too. He then remembered Honeypaw. He looked over and saw her carrying a vole and two small birds into the camp and dropped them into the fresh-kill pile. "I'll be right back. I need to talk to Honeypaw," he said to the two she-cats.

Honeypaw looked up and saw Lionpaw bounding towards her. She felt anger rise inside her and turned and stalked away. "Honeypaw, wait!" Lionpaw called after her. "I don't want to talk to you, Lionpaw," she hissed, not looking at him. He caught up her. "Honeypaw, please, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he told her. She stopped and spun around to face him, her eyes filled with hurt. "You should be sorry," she snapped at him. "I was only saying what I said because I was scared for you, Lionpaw," she mewed to him. "I'm sorry," he meowed to her. "Lionpaw, you're my best friend. I don't want to lose you," she said to him. "You won't lose me. We're best friends till the end," he purred, flicking her shoulder with his tail. She nodded. "I forgive you, you stupid fur ball," she meowed teasingly. He glared playfully at her and tried to swipe a sheathed paw at her and before they knew it, they were play-fighting.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Honeypaw lifted her head from her mossy nest. She prodded her sister, Poppypaw, who slept beside her. The tortoiseshell and white she-cat yawned and looked at her sister. "Honeypaw, what is it?" she asked, stretched her paws outward, her claws unsheathed. "Remember, Thornclaw wants us on dawn patrol," she reminded her sister. Poppypaw was awake and nodded. The two sisters groomed their pelts and darted out of the den. Thornclaw and Sandstorm were talking to Ashfur, Lionpaw and Brambleclaw. Honeypaw tilted her head to one side and then saw Brambleclaw and Ashfur nod and turn away from the other two warriors and bound over to the fresh-kill pile. Then, she remembered Cinderpaw, her other sister, telling her and Poppypaw that Lionpaw and Hollypaw were having assessments. _Who's going to watch Hollypaw's assessment? _She thought to herself. She then saw Brambleclaw eyeing his daughter when she and Mousewhisker were play-fighting. She then guessed that Firestar would be watching Lionpaw's skills.

She and Poppypaw bounded over to their mentors. "Good morning, Honeypaw," Sandstorm said to her apprentice, her voice coming out as a purr. "We're going to be patrolling the western side of the forest, and then hunting for a while. Maybe some battle training too," Thornclaw meowed to the three apprentices. "Cool," Lionpaw mewed. Poppypaw sniffed the air. "Well, I can already smell a wren, so we better get moving," she mewed excitedly. The patrol exited camp and headed towards the WindClan border. Lionpaw seemed jumpy. Honeypaw narrowed her eyes and shrugged. When they came to the border, they saw a WindClan patrol. It contained the cats: Breezepaw, Whitetail, Weaselfur, and Harepaw. "What are you doing so close to our border?" Breezepaw snapped. Whitetail hissed to silence her apprentice. "Marking it, not that it's any of your business," Honeypaw snapped back. Sandstorm gave her a warning glance. Honeypaw looked down at her paws, obviously embarrassed. "What do you want, Breezepaw?" Lionpaw meowed calmly, but seriously at the same time, trying to sound like his father, Brambleclaw. "For your to get away from the border," Weaselfur meowed back. "This is our territory. We may go wherever we please," Sandstorm hissed to the ginger tom.

Harepaw let of a hiss. "Silence!" Whitetail hissed. "We aren't here to argue. We're here because we want to tell Firestar something," the white she-cat meowed. "And what might that be?" Thornclaw meowed curiously. "I told you… we wish to speak to Firestar," she mewed again, a little more fiercely. "Why did you bring a whole patrol?" Sandstorm inquired. "We brought who we wanted to bring. Let us speak to your leader now!" he hissed. Sandstorm and Thornclaw exchanged a glance. Lionpaw whispered to Thornclaw and Sandstorm, "Let's just bring Breezepaw and Whitetail." Thornclaw looked at Lionpaw with surprise as if it was a really good idea. Honeypaw nodded. Sandstorm nodded. "Whitetail, Breezepaw, come," Lionpaw mewed to them. Weaselfur and Harepaw let out hisses of disapproval. "Do you wish to speak to Firestar or not," Lionpaw said to them. "We will take Whitetail and Breezepaw," Thornclaw hissed to them. "But that's not fair," Harepaw snapped. "It is fair," Honeypaw said to them. "You'll get to speak to Firestar, then leave. That is all you came for, is it not?" Honeypaw retorted. Harepaw glared at her. Honeypaw didn't flinch, but held his stare without any signs of fear, but fierceness. Lionpaw had never seen her like that. Poppypaw nodded in agreement. "We will wait right here, then," Weaselfur meowed. "Lionpaw, Honeypaw and Sandstorm will wait here with you, then," Thornclaw meowed.

Poppypaw hissed when Breezepaw pushed past her. She stayed right beside him while Thornclaw stayed behind the white warrior. Honeypaw sat and curled her tail around her paws. Sandstorm said, "What was the meaning of the battle the other day?" Lionpaw glared at Harepaw who was unsheathing his claws and glaring at Honeypaw, who was sitting straight as if saying that they were in charge of the WindClan warriors. "It's none of your business," Weaselfur meowed calmly. "We took care of it," Harepaw mewed. Weaselfur hissed to him. "With our help," Lionpaw blurted out. "Barely. Most of it was us," Harepaw hissed. Lionpaw knew what he said was true, but still drew his lip back in a snarl. "Lionpaw, silence!" his grandmother snapped at him. He felt embarrassed. Honeypaw then said, "Are things well n WindClan?" Weaselfur stood straight. "Things are very well. We are ready to make new warriors and WindClan is becoming stronger than ever," he meowed. Honeypaw nodded. Lionpaw guessed she wanted to make them feel strong and important. But he couldn't help but wonder what was happening at camp. "Sandstorm, what do you think is happening back at camp?" he asked the warrior. "I don't know, but in the mean time, you can go and hunt. Just stay near here. After you've hunted for a little while, Honeypaw can go and hunt," the senior warrior told him. He nodded.

He turned and bounded into the forest. He wondered what Whitetail and Breezepaw were talking to Firestar about. Sighing, he shook his head to clear his thoughts and then scented the air. Instantly, he caught the scent of a squirrel. Dropping to a hunting crouch, he stalked his prey. When he saw the fat ginger creature sitting in a clearing, he licked his lips and then launched himself at it. It squealed and began running. He darted after it and clawed its side and brought it down, killing it with a swift bite to the neck. Then, he buried it and brought down a vole and a shrew. He was hungry, but knew he shouldn't eat and then decided he would go back to trade positions with Honeypaw.

Suddenly, he heard something in the bushes. He crept up to the noise and saw Whitetail and Breezepaw heading back. He scented Berrynose and Birchfall. He guessed that they had led them this deep into the forest and supposed that since he, Sandstorm and Honeypaw would be close by; they wouldn't dare go wandering off. He was about to walk out of the bushes, but stayed put when he heard the black apprentice mew, "That stupid old Firestar. Thinks he can do whatever he wants!" Whitetail sighed, but didn't say anything. "Those caves belong to us! Now that the flood water has died down, we should be able to have them. It's not like they can use it anyways," the tom snapped. "It's not like we can really make much use of them either, Breezepaw," the snowy white she-cat told her apprentice with a touch of fierceness in her tone. "But still, Heatherpaw found those caves and she belongs to WindClan. WindClan should get them. Who knows what they could provide for us?" he hissed. "Firestar said we should leave them open for emergencies only. I agree with him. It's no use fighting over something that either of the Clans doesn't really need unless it's for important usage. He said that he and Onestar would discuss it at the gathering, and that's that," she meowed. "He's not the boss of us!" Breezepaw hissed. "And nor are you," she snapped at Breezepaw. "Now come along. I know some of the others might want to fight over these caves and I will fight if Onestar says to, but for now, I hope it doesn't lead to that," the white warrior mewed. Breezepaw snorted and bounded forward. The apprentice scented the air and said to his mentor, "I want to show them that they can't boss us around," and looked in the direction of a rabbit. "I think not!" Whitetail hissed, but Breezepaw had already dropped to a hunting crouch. Lionpaw burst from the bushed and landed on Breezepaw's back. He sank his claws into his shoulders and bit into his neck. Breezepaw threw him off, but Lionpaw still held on. He pulled the black tom to the ground and jumped away before he could strike, but when the tom stood, he bit his leg and twisted it so he couldn't be struck by the black apprentice. 

"Enough!" hissed Whitetail, sinking sharp teeth into Lionpaw's neck and throwing him off of Breezepaw. She clawed Breezepaw with an unsheathed paw. There was a bloody scratch on Breezepaw's ear where the white warrior had clawed him. "I cannot believe you, Breezepaw! I shall have Onestar confine you to camp for a moon and have you not go to the next gathering!" Whitetail hissed furiously. Suddenly, Cinderpaw and Cloudtail bounded into the clearing. "What's going on!" hissed Cloudtail. "Breezepaw was about to hunt on our territory," Lionpaw snarled. "I was not!" protested the black tom. "You were too!" Whitetail hissed. Lionpaw wondered why Whitetail was being so nice. He figured that she was just a good warrior who still believed in ThunderClan and WindClan friendship. Cinderpaw drew her lip back, revealing two rows of sharp white teeth. "We'll escort you to the border," Cloudtail meowed and the five cats began there move to the border. Breezepaw glared at Lionpaw, such fire, such hatred in the tom's piercing amber eyes…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Heatherpaw lifted her head from a short nap and blinked her eyes open and yawned. She felt much better and had a lot of energy. "Hey, Kestrelpaw, can I take a walk?" she asked the medicine apprentice? Kestrelpaw came in, carrying a shrew and dropped it at his paws. "Sure, just don't go too far if you're going out on the moor," the tom meowed, padding over to his best friend Harepaw, who had gotten a thorn in his pad. Heatherpaw stood and groomed her light brown pelt until it gleamed as bright as the sun that hung in the ribbon of light blue streaked with few clouds of pure white. The air smelled of fresh rabbit, sweet wind and the grasslands. The grass was tall, but very green. Flowers of every color speckled the grass. Onestar bounded into the camp, Ashfoot and Crowfeather following him. Crowfeather's smoky black gray pelt shone brightly. Ashfoot dropped her rabbit and purred to her son, telling him he had hunted well and licked his ears. Crowfeather shied away from his mother, obviously embarrassed… after all, he wasn't a kit and not even an apprentice. But he gave his mother a loving look. She wondered if she would ever mother kits that would be great warriors of her Clan. She then wondered if she ever did have kits, who the father would be. She loved Lionpaw with all of her heart, but… she knew they could never be mates. She looked around the camp and then jogged over to Breezepaw. "Hello, Breezepaw," she meowed.

The black tom lifted his golden gaze at Heatherpaw. "Hey," he meowed, instantly brightening up. He had been confided to camp for a week after almost hunting on an enemy Clan's territory. "How's camp been for you?" she asked. "Boring," he muttered angrily. "I'm going to go for a walk," she meowed.

"Alone?" he asked, stepping forward. "Yeah," she meowed. "You shouldn't go alone," he mewed. "I can take care of myself, Breezepaw. Don't worry," she purred, batting him with a paw. 

"Just be careful," he said, picking up a fluffy rabbit and bounding over to Owlwhisker and Weaselfur. She sighed and bounded into the forest. She knew she shouldn't go down to the border, but she really wanted to see Lionpaw. She wanted to thank him properly for saving her life. And… Honeypaw… whoever she was. She thought for a moment and then decided she would go down to the border.

She jogged through the tall grass beneath the golden sun that warmed her pelt. She closed her heather colored eyes and breathed in the warm scent of WindClan. Once she got to the little stream, she lie down in the grass and stretched out. She closed her eyes and suddenly, began drifting into dreams.

"Lionpaw!" called Whitewing. Lionpaw looked over at the white warrior. "Firestar wants to see you and Hollypaw in his den right away. Bring Ashfur and tell Hollypaw to bring Brackenfur," she told him. "Okay, thanks," he meowed and bounded over to his sister.

Hollypaw lay in front of the apprentices den with Poppypaw. She and the tortoiseshell were sun bathing. "Hollypaw, Firestar wants us," he meowed to her. "What does he want?" she asked him. Lionpaw shrugged. "Go and get Brackenfur and meet Ashfur and I in his den," he told her. The black she-cat nodded and they went to go and get their mentors.

The four cats met up in Firestar's den. The fiery ginger pelt made him look like a bright flame in the shade of his mossy den. "Now, Ashfur, Brackenfur, you both know I have talked to you about your apprentices becoming warriors soon. I believe they will receive their names before the next gathering, but until then, I want you two to work to the fullest of your abilities. Poppypaw, Cinderpaw and Honeypaw will be receiving their warrior names this afternoon after Foxkit and Icekit are made apprentices. It's a while until the next gathering, so I need you two to be ready and start acting like warriors. That means no getting yourselves into trouble," he meowed, his whiskers twitching with amusement. 

Hollypaw and Lionpaw bounced with delight. Not just for themselves, but for their friends too. Lionpaw knew how much Honeypaw deserved her warrior name. She had taught him so much. Her mentor Sandstorm was the mother of the medicine cat, so she knew a lot about herbs, so she had taught him about herbs. She also was more experienced with great battle moves, just like the badger move Tigerstar had taught him because Sandstorm was in the battle with BloodClan. Sandstorm was a very experienced warrior and Honeypaw was lucky to have her as her mentor, but Lionpaw was also lucky to have Ashfur as his mentor. He was younger and stronger.

"I want you two to go out on patrol and bring back fresh-kill. No one else has hunted since early this morning and I need you two to bring back a lot. Honeypaw, Cinderpaw and Poppypaw will be joining you for their last hunt and patrol as an apprentice," their leader said.

They nodded. "Let's go!" Hollypaw mewed excitedly. Lionpaw nodded. They both had gleams in their eyes, but tried to act like real warriors.

When Hollypaw, Lionpaw, Honeypaw, Cinderpaw and Poppypaw were in the forest, Lionpaw scented a familiar scent. He lifted his head and closed his eyes. "Heatherpaw," he murmured. "Heatherpaw?" asked a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Honeypaw, looking at him with her golden eyes. "What… oh, no, I said I smell heather…. on my paws," he said quickly. "I don't smell anything, but prey," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "You want to hunt with me over there?" she asked, flicking her tail in a direction away from the WindClan border. "Uh… no thanks. I'm going to hunt over here," he said. He saw disappointment flash in Honeypaw's eyes, and also saw her try to hide it. "But I can if you want me…" he broke off as she shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'll just go and find Cinderpaw," she mewed. He felt horrible. As much as she tried to hide it, he could still hear disappointment in her voice. She tried to push it past him and turned and bounded towards the border, but was focused on hunting more than Heatherpaw for once.

He scented a wren and saw it sitting on a tree branch. It flew down and landed on a log. He stalked closer to it. The tall grass hid his pelt and when he was ready, he sprang. Lionpaw caught it and landed on the other side of the log. He killed it and buried it for later. In thirty minuets, he had caught two mice and a squirrel. He then heard a voice and recognized it to be Heatherpaw's. He turned and ran towards the border.

Heatherpaw had crossed the border. He saw her in the place where they would meet. Honeypaw was on top of the brown she-cat. Honeypaw had her teeth digging into the beautiful WindClan cat's neck fur. "Honeypaw, get off of her!" he yelled and barreled into Honeypaw, pinning her down. Honeypaw snarled and clawed the side of Lionpaw's face and tripped him with her hind legs and pinned him down. She then let him go when she realized it was Lionpaw who had attacked her instead of a WindClan warrior. Heatherpaw sank her teeth into Honeypaw tail and Honeypaw turned and scored her claws across Heatherpaw's face. Lionpaw let out a furious hiss and sank his teeth into her neck. "Lionpaw! Stop! What are you doing?" Honeypaw squealed, her eyes filled with fear. Lionpaw realized what he had just done.

He instantly let go of Honeypaw. She had a nasty wound on her neck. "Honeypaw, I didn't mean…" he began, but couldn't find the right words to say. Honeypaw looked afraid, hurt and betrayed… and surprised. Heatherpaw stepped forward. "Lionpaw…" she murmured. Lionpaw looked at Heatherpaw. "Y-you two… know each other?" Honeypaw asked. "Yes," growled Heatherpaw. "How… how could you…" Honeypaw didn't finish, but just shook her head at Lionpaw and jogged through the green grass and into the forest, away from Lionpaw and Heatherpaw. Her golden brown pelt vanished among the orange, pink and golden blossomed trees of leaf-fall. 

Lionpaw turned to face the cat he loved. "Are you hurt?" he asked. "Just a few scratches, but I'm fine," she meowed. "What about you?" Heatherpaw asked. "I'm okay, but I have to go back," he said, pressing his muzzle against Heatherpaw's. "Meet me tonight at this spot," he whispered to her lovingly. She purred and in twined her tail with his. "I will," she mewed. He licked her ears once and dashed through the forest. He stopped briefly, to tell Poppypaw to go and pick up his fresh-kill. He continued to run through the forest until he saw Honeypaw's golden pelt. He bounded up to her. "Honeypaw, I can explain," he meowed to her. 

The she-cat rounded on him. "Okay, fine! Explain this! Explain how you could attack your own clan mate! Explain how you could ever defend an enemy warrior!" she snarled at him. "She's not an enemy," he told her. "She's from a different Clan, Lionpaw!" she hissed. Lionpaw was silent. "How could you?" she asked, her voice changing from anger to hurt. He looked at the wound and said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," she hissed, turning away from him and padding over to a patch of marigold. He watched her chew up the leaves and apply them to her wound. Lionpaw winced. He had done that to her… He hurt her.

"Is she the reason you always go towards the WindClan border?" Honeypaw suddenly asked.

Lionpaw tensed. He felt the golden brown tabby's eyes burning into his pelt. He stammered. 

"Do you love her?" she asked. Lionpaw was silent for a moment.

She had finished dealing with her wound and when she turned around, Lionpaw could barely notice it. She did a good job of hiding it.

"I said, do you love her?" she asked one more time, her voice becoming a snarl. Lionpaw looked down at his paws. "I… I do," he said. Honeypaw's eyes were unreadable. They were expressionless. "Then I won't tell Firestar," she mewed, her voice coming out as a whisper.

Lionpaw watched her turn around and bound back to camp.

He had done something very wrong…. something terribly wrong…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Honeypaw padded into camp. It had been hours after the attack with Lionpaw and Heatherpaw. She sighed and dropped all of her fresh-kill into the fresh-kill pile. Her sister, Poppypaw, bounded over. "Can you believe we're going to finally be warriors!" the tortoiseshell she-cat exclaimed. Honeypaw's eyes instantly brightened up. She felt as though she had completely forgotten about the attack.

Honeypaw, Poppypaw and Cinderpaw sat in front of the apprentices den and groomed each other's pelts until all three of them shined beneath leaf-fall's golden sun. The three she-cats' mother, Sorreltail and their father, Brackenfur, came over to them. "Great, StarClan, you all look so beautiful," Brackenfur purred, pride showing in his eyes as he gazed at his daughters. Sorreltail pressed her fur against her eldest, Honeypaw. Then, she moved onto Poppypaw and the Cinderpaw.

"We're so proud of you three," Sorreltail meowed, her amber eyes glowing with pride as well.

Brackenfur sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. "We both know you three will make excellent warriors that ThunderClan will be proud of," the golden brown tom mewed.

Honeypaw looked at her paws shyly. She couldn't believe it… finally a warrior. This was what she had been waiting for ever since she was made an apprentice. Just then, Sandstorm, her mentor padded over. Thornclaw and Cloudtail followed her. Cloudtail was Cinderpaw's mentor and Thornclaw was Poppypaw's. 

The group of cats talked until sunset. A little but before that, Lionpaw and Hollypaw had returned from their hunting patrol. They had brought back enough fresh-kill to feed the Clan. Honeypaw didn't even look at Lionpaw.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting," Firestar called out. All of the cats gathered in front of the High Ledge.

Honeypaw and her sisters were on top of the High Ledge. 

Firestar stepped before them. Icekit and Foxkit were with their mother, Ferncloud to the side. The two kits were becoming apprentices. But Firestar was going to make the three apprentices warriors first.

"We gather beneath the golden sky for a special ceremony… one of my most favorites. Honeypaw, Poppypaw and Cinderpaw served as excellent apprentices, devoting their lives to protecting the Clan. It is time for them to become Warriors. StarClan, we gather before you to present these young cats. They have trained in your noble code and I commend them to you as a Warrior in their turn," Firestar meowed out loud. He stepped forward and looked at Cinderpaw. His green eyes sparkled with memory… but the three cats didn't know what the flame colored leader was thinking about.

"Cinderpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Cinderheart. We welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. ThunderClan honors your strength and determination," the leader mewed loudly so the rest of the Clan could her. He rested his muzzle on top of Cinderheart's head and she licked his shoulder respectfully. "Cinderheart! Cinderheart!" the Clan chanted excitedly.

Firestar's green eyes showed with wisdom, but he wasn't at all that old. He was a senior tom, and older than a lot of the cats, but he was not old. He still had a long life ahead of him. He looked excited and happy. He moved on to Poppypaw. "Poppypaw, from now on, you will be called, Poppyleaf. ThunderClan welcomes you as a full warrior and honors both your fierceness and gentleness," Firestar meowed. "Poppyleaf! Poppyleaf!" the cats chanted. Firestar lay his muzzle on her head and she too licked his should with respect.

Honeypaw's heart was racing. She felt so excited, tingles were running from her ears to tail tip. Firestar moved over to her.

"Honeypaw, from this moment on, your name will be Honeywing


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Heatherpaw lifted her head and blinked her eyes a couple times after seeing the golden sunshine that beamed onto her face. She stretched out and after a couple seconds, was wide awake. Harepaw, who lay beside her, stretched too. They shared tongues and then, Harepaw bounded over to the new apprentice Sedgepaw. She and her other two siblings had become apprentices the day before… the day she was attacked by… Honeypaw. She felt anger rise inside her.

"Heatherpaw, do you want to come with us on the hunting patrol?" asked Breezepaw.

His black coat gleamed in the sunshine.

"Er, sure, why not?" she mewed kindly. 

She and Breezepaw, along with Crowfeather and Whitetail gathered and ate some fresh-kill before exiting the camp and heading out into the open moor.

"I think I smell ShadowClan," Breezepaw meowed seriously. He lifted his head and his pelt began to bristle.

Crowfeather scented the air and looked at Whitetail. "He's right," Breezepaw's smoky gray father hissed, beckoning with his tail for them to follow as they headed towards the ShadowClan and WindClan border.

Heatherpaw felt a bit disappointed that they couldn't head towards the ThunderClan and WindClan border. Even though there had been a major misunderstanding the other day, she still longed to see him. She hoped that she-cat… Honeypaw hadn't told anyone that she and Lionpaw were meeting and that Lionpaw defended her. She didn't want Lionpaw to get into trouble and didn't want anyone to find out about their constant secret meetings.

Sighing, she focused and bounded towards the border.

"Hey, you've been kind of weird lately. Are you okay? You went farther out than you were supposed to yesterday. Did something happen with any of the ThunderClan cats?" he asked, his voice prickly as usual.

"I'm fine," she mewed halfheartedly.

She saw him shrug his shoulders.

_Oh Lionpaw, how will we ever be able to be together. I love you more than anything. Oh StarClan, please help us…_

She knew StarClan would not help them. It was forbidden, but she would never give up on their love…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

And Allegiances

Leader Firestar- ginger tom with a flame colored pelt

Deputy Brambleclaw- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat Leafpool- small light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

apprentice- Jaypaw

Warriors

Squirrelflight- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

apprentice- Foxpaw

Dustpelt- dark brown tabby tom

Sandstorm- pale ginger she-cat

Brightheart- white she-cat with golden ginger splotches

apprentice- Icepaw

Brackenfur- golden brown tabby tom

apprentice- Hollypaw

Cloudtail- long-furred white tom with blue eyes

Spiderleg- long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly

Berrynose- cream furred tom

Hazelcloud- small gray and white she-cat

Whitewing- snowy white she-cat with green eyes

Birchfall- light brown tabby tom

Mousewhisker- gray and white splotched tom

Honeywing- beautiful golden brown she-cat, golden eyes

Poppyleaf- tortoiseshell and white she-cat, pretty amber eyes

Cinderheart- dark gray tabby she-cat with big blue eyes

Thornclaw- golden brown tabby tom

Sorreltail- tortoiseshell and white she-cat

Ashfur- light gray tom (darker flecks) green eyes

apprentice- Lionpaw

Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook) – brown tabby she-cat, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water

Stormfur- dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of RiverClan

Millie- silver tabby she-cat, former kitty-pet, blue eyes

Graystripe- long haired gray tom

Ferncloud- light gray she-cat (darker flecks) blue eyes

Queens

Daisy- cream furred she-cat from the horseplace

Elders 

Longtail- pale tabby tom with dark black striped, retired early due to failing sight

Mousefur- small dusky brown she-cat

REST OF CLANS THE SAME AS IN DARK RIVER

THE FOLLOWING WAS ADDED TO OTHER CLANS

WINDCLAN- Thistlepaw, Swallowpaw, Sedgepaw (apprentices)

RIVERCLAN- Sneezepaaw, Mallowpaw (apprentices) Minnowfur, Pebblestorm (warriors)

SHADOWCLAN- Flamepaw, Dawnpaw, Tigerpaw (apprentices) Ivyclaw, Owltail (warriors)

**I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and advice. Especially Gladewing. If anyone has any more advice to give or had any ideas, please feel free to send me a message or include it in your review. Thanks everyone! Please tell me if u like this chapter. I know the one before this was a bit short and boring… sorry about that. Tell me if u like this one…**

Lionpaw entered camp after going on dawn patrol. They had met a couple of ShadowClan warriors. They had wanted to expand their territory a bit, but ThunderClan wasn't about to let them have more than they had already been given. Luckily, there wasn't a battle. Russetfur had been logical for once. However, there almost was. His mind, for the past couple of days had been on two things, his love for Heatherpaw and how he hoped know one would figure out that they were together and another thing… how he had hurt Honeywing.

He tried as much as possible to get his mind off of those two things. He had asked Honeywing for forgiveness, but she had not responded and turned and sat vigil. It was hard because they had always been best friends, and now she wouldn't speak to him and whenever she did, she didn't speak with hostility or anger, but spoke with such a whisper that he could tell that there was no emotion except for hurt… however, most of her words were spoken halfheartedly. She barely even spoke to him at all…

How could he have attacked her! He had been so stupid! He shook his head and dropped a thrush, two voles, a water shrew and a chaffinch into the fresh-kill pile. He had hunted with Foxpaw after the patrol. It had been almost a week since Foxpaw and Icepaw were made apprentices and they both hunted so well. But Icepaw was more skilled on fighting like Hollypaw, while Foxpaw was more skilled in hunting like Lionpaw.

"Hey Lionpaw, I'm going for a walk. Icepaw and I wanted to get to know the territory a bit more. Will you come with us?" Foxpaw asked.

Lionpaw liked the new apprentices… especially Foxpaw. They had become great friends every since the ceremony. He nodded. "Sure!" he called over to the two apprentices. He bounded over to them.

The three cats headed out of the entrance of the camp. As they walked, Lionpaw explained everything they saw. "What are these?" Icepaw asked, ready to lick some read berries. 

"No!" Lionpaw shouted, quickly shoving Icepaw aside.

"Don't eat those! Those are death berries. One lick could kill you," Lionpaw meowed seriously. Icepaw look embarrassed.

"Honeywing taught me to never eat those," he mewed. "She says they're very poisonous," he explained. "But it's okay. You didn't know, so don't worry about it. Just be careful next time," Lionpaw said, being more serious when he said to be more careful.

He longed to be with Heatherpaw, her soft brown fur pressing comfortingly against his golden pelt. He let out a purr at the thought of her.

Foxpaw looked at Lionpaw weirdly. "What's wrong?" the apprentice asked.

Lionpaw blinked back to reality. "What, oh… nothing," he mewed convincingly. Foxpaw shrugged and they kept going. They spent all day in the forest, exploring and hunting and chased a small, yet playful fox into ShadowClan territory. 

They entered camp at sunset.

"Lionpaw, where have you been? We were supposed to go hunting with Poppyleaf, Sorreltail and Mousewhisker," Ashfur scolded. His green eyes were blazed with fury. "You left without telling anyone," Lionpaw's mentor hissed.

Lionpaw shuffled his paws. "I-I'm sorry. I was out with Foxpaw and Icepaw. We did hunt…" he said, showing him all of the fresh-kill they had caught, which was a lot. 

"Well, I suppose you were useful today," Ashfur said, his eyes turning from angry to satisfactory. Just then, Millie and Graystripe bounded over with Brook and Stormfur. 

"Lionpaw, Firestar wants you to know that you'll be going to the gathering tonight," Brook meowed.

Later that night, Firestar announced one last time who would be going to the gathering. "The cats who will be going to the gathering are I, Graystripe, Ashfur, Lionpaw, Berrynose, Cinderheart, Honeywing, Poppyleaf, Brightheart and Icepaw… as well as Leafpool and Jaypaw. We leave in ten minuets. Be ready," the ginger tom called out to his Clan. He bounded off the High Ledge and over to Ashfur and Lionpaw.

"Good evening, Firestar," Ashfur meowed, dipping his head.

"Hello, Ashfur, Lionpaw," their leader mewed kindly. "I wanted to tell you that Lionpaw has been coming along excellent in his training. Sandstorm and I have been going out hunting and on patrols and have often seen him hunting and saw him when he confronted Breezepaw and Whitetail," Firestar meowed. Lionpaw felt nervous. "You handled them perfectly. When Breezepaw wanted to hunt that rabbit on our territory, I had to step on Sandstorm's tail to keep her from interfering. I wanted to see how you could handle them and you were just amazing. You are just as great an apprentice as your father was," Firestar complemented. "You're doing great with him, Ashfur," Firestar purred.

Ashfur let out a purr. "Thank you, Firestar. I am proud of him," the gray tom meowed, standing straight. 

Lionpaw felt a surge of pride. He was actually being complemented by Firestar. Did this mean he would become a warrior soon? He hoped so. 

When Firestar left, Lionpaw bounded over to Honeywing, wanting to tell her what Firestar had said to him, but then he remembered that she probably didn't want to talk to him. She was talking with Berrynose and Mousewhisker. He snorted. He didn't like Berrynose that much. Mousewhisker… he could tolerate. He stalked over to Jaypaw. 

"What's your problem?" Jaypaw asked, tilting his head to one side. "Nothing," muttered Lionpaw. Jaypaw sighed. "Is this about Honeywing?" he asked. Jaypaw flicked his fluffy gray tail towards the golden brown she-cat. His sightless blue eyes were filled with curiosity, yet they looked as if he knew that Honeywing was on his mind. "Well… is it her?" Lionpaw's brother asked him, his tone becoming more impatient by the minuet.

Lionpaw opened his mouth to say yes, but couldn't. "No!" he lied. "What would make you think that?" he hissed. Jaypaw sighed again and shook his head. Lionpaw felt blood rush to the tips of his ears. He didn't want to let Jaypaw know the slightest information of how he attacked his clan mate. Instead, he lied… as always. He felt so angry with himself for telling his Clan… his friends… so many lies. He sighed and looked over at Honeywing. She was really mad at him… and he didn't blame her.

Jaypaw glared at Lionpaw. "Come on Lionpaw, stop lying! Everyone knows Honeywing is mad at you," Jaypaw growled irritably. "How?" he retorted. "By the way she talks to you and how you keep on trying to talk to her," he said. Lionpaw felt embarrassed. "What did you do to her?" Jaypaw asked his brother.

Lionpaw froze. He couldn't tell Jaypaw that he had attacked her. One, because he would ask why and he didn't want to tell him that it was because she had attacked Heatherpaw, the cat he loved, and two, because it was just against the warrior code to attack your clan mate. "I…" he trailed off and thanked StarClan when Firestar told them that they were leaving, so he didn't have to finish. Leafpool told something to Jaypaw and before Jaypaw could turn around and ask Lionpaw again, he hurried off to walk beside Ashfur and Icepaw. 

They reached the island and he saw Heatherpaw, crowded by other cats, one of which was Breezepaw, Lionpaw's worst enemy. He drew his lip back, but knew he couldn't act like that around other cats. There was to be peace at every gathering.

Suddenly, the cats around Heatherpaw went away, but only Breezepaw remained sitting beside her. As he came up behind them, he heard Breezepaw say to Heatherpaw, "Heatherpaw, I love you."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Honeywing sat down beneath a short tree. Berrynose padded up to her. "Hey, what's going on with you and Lionpaw?" he asked. Her eyes turned from happy to annoyance. She looked away. Berrynose stepped forward. "Honeywing?" he asked. She turned her golden gaze to him.

"N-nothing," she meowed. Berrynose snorted. "We all know all too well to know that it's not nothing," he mewed seriously. She rolled her eyes. "Honeywing, what did he do?" Berrynose asked.

She didn't look at him. She just stared at nothing with no emotion in her eyes. "Honeywing, he's your best friend. You can't stay mad at him for long," Berrynose meowed. He pressed his muzzle against her shoulder to comfort her, but in a friendly way. "Come on, just go and talk to him," the cream furred tom encouraged.

She finally looked up at him. "Fine," she murmured stubbornly. "_There's_ the Honeywing I know," he meowed, licking her ears. She moaned. "Don't treat me like a kit," she meowed playfully. He rolled his eyes and said, "Now go and talk to him."

Honeywing nodded and weaved in and out of the cats. She spotted Lionpaw walking up to Heatherpaw and couldn't help but let out a hiss…

Lionpaw felt a wave of fury crawl along his spine. He drew his lip back into a snarl. Heatherpaw looked at Breezepaw. Her pretty eyes were filled with shock, yet happiness as well. "I…" Heatherpaw trailed off when she saw Lionpaw standing behind them. When the black tom saw Lionpaw, his amber eyes turned from soft to anger.

"What are you doing there?" Breezepaw hissed, his eyes flaring with anger and fury. Lionpaw returned his gaze. Heatherpaw stepped between the two toms before they could begin a fight. Lionpaw looked at her and her eyes now showed concern and a pleading for him not to do anything. He sighed and looked at Breezepaw. The black tom's fur was bristling and his teeth were showing.

"I came to talk to Heatherpaw," Lionpaw meowed.

"Heathertail now," Breezepaw hissed. "And I'm Breezepelt," he meowed boastingly. "Heathertail…? Congratulations!" he meowed happily to Heathertail. She looked down embarrassed. "Breezepelt, can I have a moment with Lionpaw?" she asked the black tom. His golden eyes were disapproving, but he looked from Lionpaw and Heathertail and then looked down and nodded. He turned and bounded over to a couple of young RiverClan and ShadowClan warriors. Lionpaw glared after him, but then turned to Heathertail, the cat he loved… and also, unfortunately for him, the cat that Breezepelt loved as well.

"Lionpaw, I can expl-" she managed to get out before Lionpaw blurted out. "Do you love him back?"

Heathertail's eyes turned to shock. "What do you think, Lionpaw?" she hissed. "Of course I… I don't," she mewed. "I-I love _you _Lionpaw," she purred, pressing her muzzle against his. He felt much better, but still uneasy. He looked down at Heathertail. Even though, she was a warrior, she was still smaller than him. He was already the size of a warrior. He sighed.

"I'm sorry about that," he mewed. "Don't be," she purred, licking his cheek. He licked her ears and purred. They sat next to each other for the whole entire gathering. "I think they're about to start," he meowed, seeing the leaders gather together. As he looked, he saw Honeywing eyeing them. He felt uneasy again. He looked at her. He read her gaze and they showed no signs of anger, just concern. She caught his eyes and gave him a look saying: _Be careful, Lionpaw. _He sent her a thankful look back.

She looked down at her paws, her eyes lost in emotion. He felt bad. Even after he attacked her, he put all of this extra trouble on her shoulders and she was keeping his secrets. He owed her big time. He was lucky to have her as a friend. "Hey, I need to go and talk to Honeywing," he mewed.

Heathertail's eyes began to blaze with fury. "That golden brown cat!" she spat. "Yes… but Heathertail, don't be mad at her. She… she knows," he told her. Heathertail gasped. "She hasn't told has she?" Heathertail asked in horror.

"No," Lionpaw replied.

Heathertail sighed in relief. "Is she keeping our secret?" she asked.

Lionpaw nodded. "She is," he said. "I just need to talk to her for a second," he meowed to Heathertail. He saw her nod understandingly and he bounded across the clearing to Honeywing. "Hey," he said, slowing down and walking up to her. He saw her look up at him.

"Hey," she murmured. There was silence for a second and he saw her look away for a second.

"I'm sorry!" they both said at the same time.

"You go first," Honeywing said.

"Look, Honeywing, I'm really sorry about putting you through all this trouble. I'm… really sorry that I… hurt you. I didn't mean to, honestly. I just… I was just," he trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"In love," she finished for him. He looked at her. Her amber eyes showed understanding and softness.

"… Yeah," he meowed. "And… I want to say thanks as well. You know, for keeping our secret," he mewed quietly. He saw her become tense. "I know it's probably hard, but… it means a lot to me," he purred. He saw her open her mouth to say something, but then the ground began to tremble and shake with great force…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Honeywing dug her claws into the dirt, trying to balance herself. She gasped when the some of the rocks and boulders began to fall and tumble down from a large hill on the island. She squealed with horror, but Lionpaw pushed her out of the way. They both collapsed onto the ground, a pile of huge rocks beside them.

"Don't just stand there, run!" he shouted, nudging her. She bolted through the clearing, jerking to stops as boulders fell in front of them. Lionpaw stopped for a second and looked for Heatherpaw, but no cats were in sight. The only cats that seemed to be on the island were him and Honeywing. He suddenly fell to the ground when something hit his head. He fell to the ground and everything was black for a moment…

After a while, he suddenly blinked his eyes open and lifted his head. He moaned in pain and saw blood dripping to the dusty floor and realized the wound on his head was bad. He looked up when he saw a shadow loom over him.

There, standing in front of him were three cats. "Welcome Lionpaw," mewed a beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat. There were shinning stars in their fur and he gasped. "Am I dead?" he asked. A golden tom stepped forward. "No, Lionpaw. However, you are in StarClan, but in a dream. You and Honeywing," he meowed, flicking his tail towards Honeywing golden brown shape in the grass. Blood stained the dusty and grassy ground. She looked dead. "Honeywing!" he yelled, bounding over to her body. "Is she…" he trailed off. The silver blue she-cat, which was the third cat, shook her head. "She is merely in a dream as well. She too can see your body, although she is talking to three different cats," she meowed.

Lionpaw looked confused. The tortoiseshell then mewed softly, "I am Spottedleaf. I'm a close friend of Firestar's." He could hear love in her voice and narrowed his eyes. How could she love Firestar when he loved Sandstorm? He shook his head and then the golden tom then meowed, "I'm Lionheart." Lionpaw's eyes brightened. Was he named after a great ThunderClan warrior? "And I'm Bluestar," the silver blue she-cat. Lionpaw had heard a lot about the magnificent ThunderClan leader.

"We come with a prophecy," Lionheart meowed. He looked down at Honeywing's small body. She looked hurt, but he wanted to listen to what the three StarClan cats had to say. "A beast will rise, with claws that destroy land, teeth that break trees, pelt the color of silver. The heart of the land will rise, and for a time and time only, will the Clans follow the stars. A drop of rain will be the warning… be ready for a new beast," they said. Lionpaw shook his head and sprang after them as they began to fade away. As they faded away, the land around him changed. A drop of rain fell onto his pelt and the sun rose and then a second later, the moon rose. It did that twice, as if two whole days passed by in two seconds. Then, roars of a catlike beast began to sound around him. He felt claws scratch his fur and teeth sink into his body, but they didn't feel like the teeth of any cat he ever knew.

Then, stars began to move away, as if StarClan was leaving him. "No!" he shouted, running after the stars, but a second later, he felt pain in his head and everything turned black again. He moaned and blinked his eyes open. He stood and suddenly realized the pain in his head was gone. He looked into a pool and saw that the wound had disappeared. He looked around and saw Honeywing's small, fragile body lying on the grass. "Honeywing!" he yelled, running to her side.

The blood of her wounds that he saw while talking to the StarClan cats were gone. She looked perfect. "Honeywing?" he said, nudging her. She groaned and opened her eyes. "Lionpaw?" she asked, lifting her head. He sighed in relief. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She sat up and nodded. "I think so," she mewed. She looked around. "W-what just happened?" she asked, her voice coming out as a whisper.

"I don't know," he meowed, looking around.

Honeywing stood and began to walk but stumbled and almost fell. "Whoa, easy there," Lionpaw mewed, stepping beside her before she could fall. Instead of falling to the ground, she leaned against him. She instantly stood upright instead of continuing to let him help her for support.

She stumbled again, but this time fell on the ground. Lionpaw stood over her. He tilted his head to one side. "You sure you're okay?" he asked. She looked up at him. "I said I didn't know," she snapped. "Let me help you up," he offered. She opened her mouth to argue, but knew it would probably hurt if she did it on her own. He helped her up and he asked, "What happened?"

"Rock," she mewed, "hit me. Then I tripped and fell down a tiny gorge. I hurt my leg badly, but… I-I'm okay," she mewed, looking at Lionpaw. He saw something in her eyes, but he couldn't tell what it was. "Lionpaw, I…" she trailed off. "You what?" he asked, stepping forward. "I saw… terrible things. Three cats, they came to me and told me that…" she mewed, but trailed off. "That a beast will rise with teeth and claws and…" he broke off when he saw the scared look on Honeywing's eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know," she mewed. "Honeywing I'm sorry," he meowed. "It's okay," she mewed. "But what do you think it means?" she asked him.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that the Clans are in danger," he mewed gravely.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Honeywing thought about the stories that Mousefur and Longtail had told her and her sisters, and could just imagine the forest being destroyed. "Lionpaw, what are we going to do?" Honeywing asked him. "Maybe we should tell Firestar," she suggested.

Lionpaw shook his head. "I know we should, but I have a feeling we shouldn't," he meowed. "I mean, if StarClan wanted him to know, then they would have told him or at least would have told us to tell him," he told her. He saw her looked down at her paws.

"Lionpaw, how can we keep this to ourselves? How do we know when this thing is going to happen? How are we-" she began saying really quickly, until Lionpaw broke her off. "Honeywing, it's going to be okay," he mewed, pressing his muzzle against hers. He felt her stiffen and instantly stepped back, knowing he had just made her… and himself uncomfortable. He looked down at her and she was looking away.

"Lionpaw, can I tell you something? Even if it's completely off topic?" she asked him.

"You can tell my anything, Honeywing. You're my best friend," he told her. He saw her eyes darken as he finished his sentence. Had he said the wrong thing? She looked down at her paws and he sat beside her, his fur touching hers comfortingly. She looked up at him and for a moment, Lionpaw found himself lost in her eyes. He felt something that he… had never felt before, although it seemed a little familiar. She opened her mouth to say something, but then suddenly, the voice of Firestar sounded throughout the clearing. Suddenly, every cat that was at the gathering was back. "We're back," Honeywing mewed happily. She looked at Lionpaw and then bounded over to Berrynose and pressed her muzzle into his fur.

Lionpaw watched and felt something run through him. _Am I jealous? _He asked himself. He shook his head and saw Heathertail standing by herself. "Heathertail!" he mewed joyously. He pressed his muzzle against hers and he heard her purr. "I love you," he whispered to her. She looked at him and mewed, "I love you too."

Honeywing looked up at Berrynose. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. "You're acting as if you haven't seen me in moons," Berrynose meowed. _It sure felt like it, _she thought to herself. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Did you talk to Lionpaw?" he asked her. His blue eyes were filled with concern.

"Yeah, I did," she told him. "We… we talked about a lot," she said, not lying, remembering talking about the prophecy. She longed to tell Berrynose, but she didn't. "I think we're friends again," she mewed. She saw Berrynose's eyes brighten. She was thankful to have him as a friend, even though she knew he didn't like Lionpaw that much. She liked Berrynose… a lot, but she didn't know if she liked him enough to be her mate. She then thought about who would be her mate. She shook her head. She didn't want a mate… at least not now.

She listened to the leaders begin the gathering. It was as if no time had passed since she and Lionpaw had been told the prophecy.

Firestar went first. "All is well in ThunderClan. We have recently chased a fox from our territory and have been blessed by StarClan not to have any sickness… however we do have a lot of herbs ready for leaf-bare, so we are ready. We also have made two new apprentices, Foxpaw and Icepaw. Also, we have three new warriors, Honeywing, Cinderheart and Poppyleaf," he meowed proudly.

All eyes fell on Honeywing, Cinderheart or Poppyleaf. Honeywing puffed out her chest with pride and held her head high. A few shouts of congratulations went out to them. "When the battle broke out between RiverClan and WindClan, we fought off both Clans away from our territory, but also mostly fighting RiverClan because WindClan was in their territory; however, they were too close. Other than that, ThunderClan's territory has been flourishing and as are we. We are growing stronger and are almost ready to make some more warriors soon," he meowed, stepping back.

Leopardstar then stepped forward. "RiverClan would like to point out that WindClan have been taking the only squirrels and rabbits we have on our territory," the spotted leader hissed. "RiverClan doesn't hunt squirrels! What's the use of having them!" a WindClan cat spat. "You don't hunt squirrels either!" spat Mistyfoot. "But Leopardstar, those squirrels and rabbits are useless to you! And we are starting to hunt squirrels because of the woodland in our territory," Onestar hissed. "I don't care if they are useless to us. If the fish ever run out, we turn to the squirrels and rabbits for prey. And even if they are useless to us right now, it doesn't matter. You don't cross our territory! At all, do you understand?" the leader hissed. Onestar drew his lip back, but then reluctantly nodded.

"Anyways, other than that, the fish are flourishing and we have made two new warriors, Minnowfur and Pebblestorm," she meowed proudly.

Honeywing turned and looked at two warriors. Both were gray cats. One was a she-cat with downy fur and another who was a muscular tom. They both puffed out their chests with pride.

"We also have two new apprentices; Mallowpaw and Sneezepaw. But only Sneezepaw is here tonight," Leopardstar meowed. The apprentice's head lifted proudly and all eyes were of the RiverClan cat.

Blackstar then spoke, "ShadowClan welcomes the prey that has been running on our large territory. We also have three new apprentices: Flamepaw, Tigerpaw and Dawnpaw. And we also have new editions to our warriors. Ivyclaw and Owltail received their warrior names not too long ago and are making ShadowClan even stronger," the ShadowClan leader announces, letting Onestar finally speak.

"WindClan has been very lucky this moon. The rabbits and squirrels are running and we also welcome three apprentices, Swallowpaw, Thistlepaw and Sedgepaw. As well, we also welcome Heathertail and Breezepelt into the warriors nest tonight. We are stronger than ever and chased a badger from our territory. That is all," he mewed. "Let all Clans return home," Leopardstar meowed aloud.

Heathertail looked at Lionpaw. "Meet me tonight at the clearing," she whispered. She turned and flicked his cheek with her tail and padded over to Whitetail and Nightcloud. He watched her go, but suddenly, the words of the prophecy and the memories of the dream he had two moons ago popped into his head. He had hoped those dreams had gone for good, but he couldn't seem to get it out of his head. He could just see Heathertail so clearly, then turning into Breezepelt and then running towards her, but then she disappears and he feels like he's drowning in the emotions of being lost, being alone… being loved all at the same time.

Honeywing bounded over to him. "Hey," she murmured. "You look troubled," she mewed to him.

"Who wouldn't be?" he muttered. She sighed. "It said something about a rain drop being the sign," he told her. "Maybe we should be ready for rain and they said also that the cat had a silver pelt," he added. He watched her think.

"You know, I've been seeing this cat. He doesn't look like a kitty-pet, but he's very big and he has a silver pelt. He's... been roaming along the border, but it's as if he knows that there are borders. But he looks as if he could kill three full grown warriors. Maybe he's the cat that might tear the Clans apart," Honeywing mewed to Lionpaw.

"But… how could it just be one," he asked. He saw Honeywing think again.

"Maybe he has friends just like him," Honeywing suggested. "Maybe," Lionpaw murmured. "We're going to figure this out, though," he meowed. Honeywing nodded.

Lionpaw watched the sun set out in the forest. "Lionpaw!" he heard someone say. He was deep in ThunderClan territory, but he thought it was Heathertail. "Heathertail!" he said excitedly, spinning around

"No, just me, I'm afraid," Honeywing mewed, padding up to him. "You really love her, don't you?" she asked him softly. He looked at her. He swore he could see sadness in her eyes, but he shook it off.

"Yeah, but… I sometimes feel like… I'm lost. Like I'm not where I'm supposed to be. I feel like I want to be closer to her, but with everything okay. Where no one can judge us because we're from different Clans," he mewed. He saw Honeywing's eyes change to compassion.

"Lionpaw, no one ever gets a perfect love life… ever. Especially when you love someone from a different Clan," she mewed, looking at him and tilting her head to one side.

"I know, but I can wish can't I?" he mewed. Honeywing stared at him for a moment. Then, she nodded. "Yes," she murmured. "You can," she said, looking down. "Have you ever considered finding love in ThunderClan?" she asked hesitantly.

"N-no," he murmured. "I love Heathertail. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to be with her," he meowed. "Honeywing, can't you understand that I love her too much to let her go," he said, his voice rising a little bit. He saw her turn her head away.

She turned her gaze back to him and said, "Do you love her enough to _let _her go?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"How can you ask me that!" he hissed at her. "I'm not giving her up! I thought you understood that!" he snapped. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Lionpaw kept on talking. "Honeywing, I love her and I'll never stop loving her," he said.

"Why?" she begged. He glared at her. "Because I _love _her," he hissed.

"You're only an apprentice, you don't know what love is," she snapped at him. "And you do?" he retorted hotly. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Lionpaw. Just be careful," she warned him. "Come on, I want to show you something," she told him. He followed her.

They headed into the forest and she flicked her tail signaling to him to stay quiet. She led him to the border and hid in the bushes. "What are we looking for?" Lionpaw asked her, looking down at her. She hissed at him to be quiet and he thought in his head, _she-cats._ After a while, a huge silver pelted gray tom came to the border. He stretched and flexed his claws and Lionpaw gasped at how large and long they were.

"At least he's not bad looking," Honeywing mewed. Lionpaw narrowed his eyes and looked at Honeywing and glared at her. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she mewed, shrinking back into the bushes, looking embarrassed. "I mean, he's _so _ugly," she mewed, twitching her whiskers in amusement. He narrowed his eyes at her again as if to say, _Yah yah, ha ha, very funny. _

"We should talk to him," she suggested, stepping out of the bushes.

Before she could go, he stepped on her tail and she jerked back into the bushes. "Are you crazy!"

"No, of course not!" Honeywing hissed at him. "I'm trying to see what he wants. If he attacked, you're a fast runner, you could go and get help," she said as if it were no big deal.

"Honeywing, I'm not going to risk you getting hurt," he said. "And besides, what's would happen during the time I was gone? He'd rip you to pieces," he hissed.

"You think I would be able to take care of myself?" she said, flattening her ears.

"No cat could stand a chance against that cat," he mewed. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said. "Mmm hmm," she said, rolling her eyes.

She bounded out of the bushes and said, "Hey, you!" The gray tom looked at her and froze. The gray tom looked around and then bounded towards Honeywing.

"Honeywing, no!" Lionpaw hissed. The golden tom leaped out of the bushes and stood in front of Honeywing. "Lionpaw!" Honeywing snarled.

"Hello, Honeywing," the gray tom meowed. "Hello, Rainstorm," Honeywing mewed. "I'm guessing this is Lionpaw," he meowed.

Honeywing glared at Lionpaw and pushed past him. "Yes, it is," she said. "You know him?" Lionpaw asked.

"Yes, why did you think I wasn't at all afraid when I joked about me getting attacked," she said.

"How could you joke about this!" he snapped. "I'm sorry," she mewed. "Look, there's no need for fighting. I'm here to help," Rainstorm meowed.

"I know about the prophecy," the big gray tom told Lionpaw.

**Sorry, I know this was short! Please, I need REVIEWS!! Please Review people! Please tell me if anyone doesn't like the story. I need to know... :(**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Rainstorm looked at the two cats and watched Honeywing give Lionpaw a stare that told him, _I told you he wasn't to be feared of. _"I know about the prophecy," he repeated. Lionpaw looked shocked.

"How?" the golden tom challenged. Rainstorm flattened his ears at his rudeness. Lionpaw unsheathed his claws. Honeywing stood between them and said, "Lionpaw, can I talk to you?" Lionpaw nodded, but was still looking at Rainstorm with a fierce glare in his amber eyes. She turned and padded a few fox-lengths away. He followed her.

"What is your problem?" Honeywing hissed.

"What do you mean? It's _him_ that has the problem," Lionpaw hissed, flicking his tail towards Rainstorm. "I don't trust him," he said, his ears flattening against his head again. He hissed when Honeywing cuffed his ear with a sheathed paw. "What was that for?" he snapped.

"Stop being stupid. He knows about the prophecy. He's the only one that knows what we're going through. Lionpaw, please. Just listen to what he has to tell us," she asked him, her voice coming out as though she were pleading.

Lionpaw shook his head. He was looking at Rainstorm suspiciously. Honeywing stepped in front of him, blocking his view and looked up at him. She tilted her head to one side her eyes pleading. "Honeywing, I can't. I don't trust him," he said to her.

"Lionpaw do it for me," she meowed. He just stared at her. "Fine, if you won't do it for your clan mates, do it for Heathertail. If we don't figure this thing out, Heathertail might die," she hissed at him. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt crash down on him.

"Alright, I'll listen," he said. "Good, at least you care about someone," she muttered. "Honeywing, I didn't mean that I wouldn't do it for you, I just…" he managed to say, before she silenced him with a flick of her tail. She padded up to Rainstorm.

"What do you know about the prophecy?" Honeywing asked.

Rainstorm looked at Lionpaw to Honeywing and then said, "I had the same dream that you had, Honeywing. Except, I saw you, Lionpaw and I walking after the stars. They led us to grass lands with a river in the shadows with thunder. We were all content as though everything was sheltering us instead of hurting us. But we were waiting. We were away from here… away from the Clans. The stars then went away and we were drowning in darkness with unseen cats clawing at our pelts. Then we were in the lake, but we could breath. The lake suddenly dried up as though is was a desert and we were okay. However, it was really hot, but that's it," Rainstorm meowed.

"Well, StarClan obviously showed you more than they showed us," Honeywing meowed. "Why do you think that is?" she asked.

Rainstorm shrugged his shoulders. "You're asking the wrong cat," he admitted.

"Why are you here?" asked Lionpaw in a rude tone.

Rainstorm narrowed his eyes. "Not for long. I've been here for about two moons or so. I've often seen Honeywing around," the large gray tom meowed.

"Well, what do you think we should do to discover more about the prophecy?" Honeywing asked, the question directed to both toms.

"We could go to the Moonpool," Lionpaw suggested after thinking for a minuet.

"Great idea!" Honeywing purred. "When should we go?" she asked.

"How about tonight?" Lionpaw asked.

Rainstorm shook his head. "We should wait for at least two days to see if anything else happens. And we need to get some rest anyways," the gray tom meowed.

"He's right," Honeywing mewed. She saw Lionpaw flatten his ears and she rolled her eyes. "Good idea, Rainstorm. We'll leave at sunset in two days. Where should we meet?" she asked.

"Right here is good," Rainstorm meowed. "We can take off to the Moonpool after that and… wait, what is the Moonpool?" Rainstorm asked them.

There was suddenly a rustle in the bushes and all three cats froze. "I'll tell you tomorrow," Honeywing mewed and she and Lionpaw bounded into the forest and Rainstorm flicked his tail in farewell and then bounded back across the border and into the land that no Clan lived in…

They would wait… until that day to go to the Moonpool.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lionpaw stretched out and flexed his claws as the warm sun hit his golden tabby pelt. It seemed like moons since he had actually spent a good amount of time in camp. He bounded over to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a vole.

Looking around, he saw Jaypaw sitting and talking with Brook and Stormfur. He padded over to them. "What's up?" he asked them. Brook looked ecstatic and Stormfur looked proud and excited as well.

"I'm going to have kits!" Brook exclaimed with excitement.

"Brook, that's great!" Lionpaw meowed, congratulating the two cats. "When are they due?" he asked them.

"In almost three moons," Brook replied. She turned to Stormfur.

The two cats looked lovingly at each other and then bounded over to Graystripe who was coming in the camp with Dustpelt, Brackenfur and Hollypaw following him. Lionpaw saw Graystripe let out an excited meow.

He wondered if he would ever have kits. He shivered at the thought. Having to take care of tiny little mewling scraps didn't seem like the thing he would want. Having gotten the thought out of his head, he sat down beside his brother.

"Has Leafpool talked to you about getting your medicine cat name yet?" Lionpaw asked. Jaypaw nodded. "She's going to take me to the Moonpool tomorrow night," he mewed. Lionpaw froze.

"T-tomorrow night?" he asked. Jaypaw nodded slowly.

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"No, of course not. I-I got to go and talk to Honeywing," he said. Before he could leave, Jaypaw called him back.

"You and Honeywing have gotten pretty close, huh?" Jaypaw meowed, his whiskers twitching with amusement.

Lionpaw felt blood rush to the tips of his ears. "No I haven't," he hissed. "We're just friends," he said. He saw Jaypaw give him a disbelieving stare, even though his eyes could not see.

"What? I don't. Honeywing is… just a cat. She's… not something that I would consider really important to me. Besides, how could I _ever_ have feelings for her?" he said.

Jaypaw flicked his tail at a cat behind Lionpaw. He turned around and saw Honeywing standing there. His eyes widened. Lionpaw opened his mouth to say something, but for some reason he couldn't find the right words. He stumbled for something to say, but nothing came out.

"Honeywing I-" he stammered, but she said, "No it's okay. I-I understand," she mewed, looking down at her paws. "I guess I should go," she mewed, turning around and bounding out into the forest.

Lionpaw knew all too well he had hurt her. _Why do you always do this, Lionpaw?! What's wrong with you? Honeywing has been your best friend for ages. How could you say you don't care about her? She's a great cat… skilled, kind, beautiful… wait, what am I saying? Get it together, Lionpaw! _He thought to himself. He turned to Jaypaw as if to ask what to do.

"Don't look at me," he said. "Looks like you're going to have to handle this on your own, Lionpaw," Jaypaw meowed, turning and stalking to over to the medicine den.

Lionpaw sighed and wondered if he should go out to find Honeywing.

"If you ask me, I think Honeywing needs some time alone," meowed a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Brightheart meowed. She was sitting with Whitewing and Sorreltail. The other she-cats nodded in agreement.

He sighed and walked over to Cinderheart.

"Cinderheart, can I talk to you?" he asked.

The fluffy dark gray she-cat lifted her head from the boulder she was laying on. She jumped down in front of Lionpaw.

"Let me guess, it's about my sister," Cinderheart said, her whiskers twitching.

"Depends on which one," Lionpaw retorted.

"Come on, Lionpaw. I know you're talking about Honeywing," Cinderheart mewed. "What have you done to her this time?" Cinderheart inquired.

"What it that supposed to mean?" hissed Lionpaw.

"Lionpaw, you two have been friends forever and have been through a lot together. A lot of things have happened between you two," Cinderheart told him.

"Well… I kind of said that she wasn't important to me and that I could never have feelings for her," he told Cinderheart, looking down embarrassed and feeling guilty.

He suddenly felt something claw his ear. It didn't hurt, but it made his hiss. Cinderheart glared at him with such fury in her eyes.

"I guess I should be really sorry?" he said, shrinking back.

Cinderheart hissed, "Of course you should be! But not to me, for Honeywing! How could you ever say that she doesn't mean anything to you?"

Lionpaw looked down. "I just… didn't know what I was talking about. I didn't mean for it to sound as if I don't care about her at all. I love Honeywing… as a friend of course," he meowed.

"Then why did you say that?" Cinderheart asked.

"I don't know… Jaypaw was going off on how it looked as though I was in love with her and I'm not," he meowed.

"I don't love her like that," he mewed to himself.

There was suddenly a voice in the back of his head. It wasn't his voice, but a voice that he didn't know

_Who are you trying to convince, Lionpaw?_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Do I really mean nothing to him? But I thought… no, Honeywing. You two could never be. Besides, you don't like him. You're friends and that's that. But… I wish he thought of me as at least someone… a friend that he cares deeply about. What am I saying, why do I even care? You don't like him! _Honeywing thought to herself. She was looking down and wasn't paying attention where she was going and suddenly collapsed. She looked behind her and saw that she had tripped over a large root of a tree. She sighed and stood.

"Need any help?" asked a large gray tom.

Honeywing looked up to see Rainstorm. "Hello," she mewed, quickly standing up and quickly giving her fur a groom. "I'm okay," she told him.

"Where's Lionpaw?" Rainstorm asked.

Honeywing looked away. "He's back at camp," she said quietly.

"Are you okay? Did he… do anything?" Rainstorm quarried.

Honeywing shook her head. "No," she mewed. "And again, I'm okay," she told him. "I just needed to get out a camp for a while… you know, take a walk," she mewed. She saw Rainstorm nod. "I'll see you later then," she meowed.

He nodded and she walked deeper into the forest. She scented the air and smelled squirrel. It had been a while since she had been hunting. She stalked the squirrel and a couple minuets later, she had brought it down. She buried it and then later brought down two starlings and a vole. Sighing, she walked over to a small pond and looked inside. She stared at her reflection.

_I wonder what's wrong with me, _Honeywing thought. _I'm not… ugly am I? I know I shouldn't even care, but… _Her thoughts trailed off as she turned and saw Lionpaw standing there.

"Hey, Honeywing," he mewed. A while after talking with Cinderheart, he decided he needed to go and find her to tell her that he was really sorry.

"Hey," she mewed. She looked back into the pond and tilted her head to one side. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Honeywing, I need you to know, I didn't mean what I said back there with Jaypaw," he mewed, coming up beside her. He saw her look at him with a look that was challenging and kind of angry, but filled with amusement.

"No," she murmured. "I know you weren't joking," she said, laughing a little, but it came out filled with emotion and a little hurt.

"Honeywing, I swear I didn't mean it. Jaypaw was telling me that he thought that I liked you… more than a friend. I just wanted him off my case so I told him things that I didn't really mean. I mean, I didn't _mean _to say those things, but they just came out," he said. He saw her give a small laugh and shake her head, saying that she didn't believe him.

"Honeywing, you're smart, you're kind, you're beautiful," he said. He suddenly froze. He didn't mean for it to come out like that. Honeywing froze too.

He could tell they were both uneasy. But he could hear a tiny purr escape from her throat. He looked down at his paws, obviously embarrassed.

"I just… wanted you to know that you're my best friend and I wouldn't change you for anything. You mean a lot to me," he meowed, his voice trembling. He felt something stir inside him. He felt something… the thing that he had felt when they had discovered the prophecy and when he had pressed against her.

"Thanks," he heard her mew quietly. She looked up at him. "But… why would Jaypaw think that… you and me…" she trailed off.

Lionpaw shook his head. "I don't know, but I know that we're just friends. I mean… it would be too weird if we were anything more," he meowed, laughing kind of uneasily. He saw her nod.

He gulped. _Why do I feel so… so… weird? _Lionpaw thought to himself.

There was silence between them for a long time…

_He thinks I'm beautiful, and smart and kind. Why do I feel so weird? I can't be falling in love with Lionpaw. Like he said, it would be too weird. I still can't believe he thinks I'm beautiful. Oh no, please StarClan, don't let me fall in love with him… _Honeywing thought to herself.

"What are you thinking about?" Lionpaw asked.

"What? Oh, nothing," she said. _Whew, that was close!_ She thought to herself.

_Great StarClan, I can't believe how stupid I sounded! Why did I tell her she was beautiful? That probably made her feel so weird… but, she is pretty. I can't believe I just realized that now. Wait, stop it! Lionpaw, get a grip! _He told himself.

"Why did you run out of camp?" he asked Honeywing suddenly.

Honeywing looked at him. "Well, I just needed a walk," she mewed to him. "I ran into Rainstorm, so he gave me some company for a little while," she said.

Lionpaw looked away. _Why does she like Rainstorm so much? _He thought. He shook his head and said, "He's… really mysterious. Do you think we should trust him?" Lionpaw asked her. He saw her give him another pleading look.

"Lionpaw, please. Just trust me, he's a good cat. I can feel it. He can help us understand the prophecy," she told him.

"I just don't want him to hurt anyone, particularly you because you're the only other cat that knows about the prophecy," he meowed.

"I can take care of myself, thanks," she mewed, cuffing his ear with a sheathed paw. "And don't worry about it," she told him.

Lionpaw suddenly remembered about the Moonpool. "We can't go to the Moonpool tomorrow night," he told Honeywing.

"Why not?" she asked him, tilting her head to one side.

"Because Jaypaw and Leafpool are heading up there the same time we're supposed to be going there," he told her. "Jaypaw says he's going to receive his medicine cat name," he said to her.

"That's great," she mewed, happy for his brother.

"Yeah, but how are we going to get to the Moonpool?" he asked her.

"We could follow them," she said. "And when they leave, we could go into to the pool that way, if any cat catches us, we can say that we're with Leafpool and Jaypaw," she mewed.

"Great idea," Lionpaw meowed to her, giving her ears a friendly lick.

She looked at him as though he were stupid not to think of any. "Anyone could have thought of that," she mewed.

"Have you been thinking of Heathertail too much?" she said teasingly.

Lionpaw suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet Heathertail the other night. He gasped. "I was supposed to meet her yesterday," he meowed. "Oh no, she probably hates me now," he murmured, looking down in frustration.

"How can you feel bad about not seeing her? You're not even supposed to be seeing her," Honeywing reminded him. Her eyes were filled with concern and a warning.

"I know, but… I have to go to the border," Lionpaw told Honeywing.

"But-" she broke off as Lionpaw dashed off into the forest. She sighed and padded after him, but really in a hurry, but just to make sure he wasn't to be caught.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Honeywing followed Lionpaw into the deeper part of the forest. She peered through the leaves of a bush and saw him standing right in front of the WindClan and ThunderClan border. She felt concerned for her friend. If he kept this up, he was eventually going to be found out. StarClan wouldn't let him get away with it… but of course, he wouldn't listen to anyone, not even Honeywing. She sighed and watched.

After a while, Honeywing was about to step out of the bushes, but stopped herself when Lionpaw's eyes brightened and bounded over to the border as if there never was one. Her heart dropped. She was hoping Heathertail wouldn't show up. She watched as Heathertail and Lionpaw pressed against each other and purred loudly. She felt her heart drop even more. _I can't lie to myself anymore. I-I'm in love with Lionpaw, _she thought to herself.

Lionpaw pressed his muzzle against Heathertail's. "I'm so sorry I didn't meet you the other night," he whispered to her. He saw her eyes look to the ground. "You do forgive me, don't you?" he said nervously.

Heathertail's eyes became soft. "Of course I do," she meowed to him, sitting next to him. "I was just worried you were spending time with… Honeywing," she mewed. Lionpaw froze. Did everyone think he loved Honeywing? He sighed.

"I don't love Honeywing, Heathertail. I love _you_," he told her, licking her ears. He felt her body relax and pressed his muzzle against her cheek. He heard her purr.

He suddenly heard something in the bushes back at his side of the territory. They froze. He heard the voice of Brackenfur, Ashfur and Dustpelt, and… Honeywing.

He heard Honeywing saying, "No, you can't patrol that spot!"

"Why not?" asked her father, Brackenfur, suspiciously.

Lionpaw turned to Heathertail. "Go," he mewed to her. He pressed his muzzle against hers one more time and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," she said back to him. "Meet me here tonight," she added and ran onto her own territory.

Lionpaw quickly came back onto his own territory.

Honeywing had told them that they had already patrolled that side, but Dustpelt let out a hiss and pushed past her. Lionpaw had made it over the border just in time. The dark brown tabby warrior eyes Lionpaw suspiciously. "What's going on?" Lionpaw asked him as if nothing was wrong.

"Nothing," Dustpelt said after a while.

"Come on, Dustpelt," meowed Ashfur. "It looks like they've got it covered," Lionpaw's mentor meowed to the brown tom. Dustpelt nodded and the patrol headed onwards. Before they went, Brackenfur gave a warning look to his daughter as if he were telling her to be cautious because she was alone with Lionpaw. Lionpaw felt blood rush to the tips of his ears. Her father thought that he loved her too.

Honeywing rolled her eyes and bounded over to Lionpaw. "You so would have been caught if it wasn't for me," she said to him, her voice kind of frustrated.

"Thank you so much, Honeywing," he meowed. For some reason, he noticed she would not look at him straight in the eye. It was as if she had just discovered something about him and was being cautious of him. He guessed it was because of her father.

_How can I look at him after I just found out that I love him? Why did I even try to give Heathertail time to get away? If the Clan found out about his and Heathertail's secret meetings, then he would be banned to see her and maybe… he would love me too, _she was telling herself in thoughts.

She glanced at Lionpaw, but looked back down.

"Honeywing, is there something wrong?" he asked. "Why can't you look at me?" he added.

She forced herself to look up at him and was about to say something, but was lost in his eyes for a second. She then shook herself and said, "I'm sorry, I just… with you and Heathertail," she broke off. "I'm worried about you," she meowed.

Lionpaw glared at her. "Because of Heathertail," he said.

She opened her mouth to argue, but realized that was exactly what she was thinking. She nodded.

Lionpaw looked away.

"Lionpaw, listen to me, she said, stepping forward, coming real close to him. She felt nervous. "I don't want Heathertail to become your whole life. I mean, of course I'll keep your secret, but focus on all of the important things that you have right here," she told him. He still wouldn't look at her.

She sighed and added, "Focus on becoming the best warrior you can be. I know you'll be a great one soon. And Heathertail is not going to do that for you. Please, Lionpaw," she said, putting her paw on his. This time, he looked at her.

She looked up at him and he looked down at her.

He felt lost in her eyes for a moment and then moved his paw away from hers and walked a few steps away.

Honeywing felt her heart brake. She looked at him as he walked away from her. She then looked away, wanting to just crawl into her den and never come out.

She looked back at him and walked around him so she was facing him. "Lionpaw, I know you could have better than this," she told him.

"Nothing is better than Heathertail!" he argued, his voice not angry but full of anguish.

Inside, Honeywing was being torn apart.

"I know, but there are other she-cats in the Clan," she told him. "If you would just open your eyes, maybe you could see there may be-" she broke off as he shook his head.

"Let's just get back to camp," he mewed. "Thanks for everything, Honeywing," he said, pressing his muzzle against hers. She felt her heart race. She wished they could stay that way forever, but after a couple seconds, he pulled away and Honeywing felt her heart being lifted for a moment, but then crashed back down when he pulled away.

He led the way back to camp. She couldn't stop thinking of the feeling she had when he touched her. She felt her pelt tingle. She had never felt anything like it. Honeywing guessed this is how he felt about Heathertail.

Just the thought of the gorgeous light brown she-cat made her hear fall. Sighing, she padded beside Lionpaw. "So you really do love her?" she asked him.

"Heathertail? Of course, how many times do I have to say it? I wish I could just tell everyone that I love her and have no one complain. Instead, everyone thinks I'm in love with _you_," he said, his voice letting her know that he was frustrated.

Her heart completely broke this time. "Would loving me be so bad?" she asked quietly, stopping in her tracks.

Lionpaw turned and looked at her. They stood there, looking at each other for what seemed like forever.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Lionpaw felt as if he had been put on the spot again. He thought about what it would be like to have Honeywing as his mate. But the only things that came to his mind were Heathertail. He shook his head to clear his mind and looked at Honeywing.

Would loving me be so bad? The words echoed in Lionpaw's head.

Honeywing just stood there, watching him. He looked back at her and wished all this stress and Heathertail and Rainstorm and the prophecy was gone. He wanted it to be like old times, when he and Honeywing were young apprentices with a strong friendship. He wanted to just curl up next to her in the den and be able to close his eyes and dream of being a warrior… but those dreams had been overthrown by Heathertail. Lionpaw loved her, he really did, but Heathertail was from a different Clan and he could understand what Honeywing had told him back at the clearing. He just… didn't want to believe it… he didn't want to believe that they were growing up.

Suddenly, a cat burst from the bushes. Honeywing jumped, so did Lionpaw. It was only Foxpaw. "Lionpaw, Firestar wants you to… oh, sorry, am I interrupting anything?" the reddish brown tom asked.

Lionpaw saw Honeywing shake her head. "No," she said, her voice going back to normal, trying to hide her hurt. "What did you want?" Honeywing asked the apprentice.

"Firestar is going to make Lionpaw and Hollypaw warriors!" Foxpaw exclaimed. Lionpaw's eyes brightened instantly and so did Honeywing's. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Honeywing jerked her head towards camp, signaling she wasn't mad at him and for him to get to camp.

It was two hours until he would be made a warrior and they flew by so quickly. He felt like a kit when his mother came and began covering him with licks. He came out of the den with his sister and stepped up onto the high ledge.

Firestar stood before them. "StarClan, we gather beneath Silverpelt for a special ceremony. These cats have trained in your noble code and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn," the fire colored leader meowed loudly. He stepped to Hollypaw.

"Hollypaw, from now on, you will be Hollythorn. We welcome you as a full warrior to the Clan. ThunderClan honors your intelligence and eagerness to learn," Firestar meowed and moved to Lionpaw.

"Lionpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Lionclaw. We honor your strength and courage and welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan," the ThunderClan leader meowed.

Lionclaw couldn't believe it. He was finally a warrior. The Clan chanted his and his sister's new names and he looked down at his clan mates and saw Honeywing in the crowd. She, along with his brother and parents were chanting the loudest. He bounded down to her and realized he didn't want anything more to spend time with her, but knew he had to keep vigil for the night. He wanted things to go back to normal, when she and he were just friends without any care in the world.

"Hey," she mewed to him, looking up at him. "Lionclaw," she purred. "Congratulations," she mewed to him, looking down.

He could tell she was still thinking of the conversation earlier. "Being in love with you wouldn't be bad, Honeywing. I think that any tom who could win your heart would be one of the luckiest toms in the world," he whispered to her.

She looked up at him and said nothing, but in her mind, she screamed, But I want you, Lionclaw! 

She looked down at her paws. She hadn't revealed that she loved him, but just that fact that she wanted someone to love her…

Lionclaw stood in the entrance of camp with his sister. Thoughts filled his head about the two she-cats in his life: Heathertail and Honeywing. He loved both of them, but he loved Honeywing as a friend. He would give his life to save her, but he didn't think of her as his mate in the future. Then again, he couldn't think of Heathertail taking that role either, he just once dreamed about it.

He was a warrior of his Clan, given the responsibility to protect his Clan at whatever costs. He was to follow the code of StarClan and be a good example to kits and apprentices. It would soon have to end between him and Heathertail, he finally realized.

His heart felt like it was being torn in two. No, he couldn't let Heathertail go. Not just yet. He wanted to make the most of what they had… and what they had was very special, but there was just the feeling of wrongness. His feelings lingered elsewhere at times, but he didn't know where to. He sighed.

"Are you okay?" Hollythorn asked.

"No," he mewed, turning to his sister…


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Honeywing padded into the warriors den and lay beside Berrynose and Cinderheart. "Hey, Honeywing," mewed Berrynose. Cinderheart gave her sister a friendly nod and then went to grooming herself. She purred and lay down in her mossy nest and fell asleep.

Dreams of Lionclaw entered her mind. They were playing in the snow.

"_Can't catch me!" Honeywing teased. She frolicked through the forest and looked over her shoulder. He caught her and pinned her down. She looked up at him and purred. He pressed his muzzle against hers and she felt her pelt tingle. When his grip loosened, she quickly got out from under him and stood. His eyes sparkled and Honeywing felt like he was rebuilding her heart. She looked down at her paws shyly._

"_Lionclaw," she murmured as he came and sat next to her, their pelts touching. "I-I think I'm in love with you," she mewed, looking down at her paws shyly. She waited for him to tell her that he didn't feel that same way… but the words never came._

_He suddenly twined their tails together and whispered to her, "I love you too." She looked up at him and they pressed their muzzles against each others and purred loudly. He really loved her! She felt her heart soar higher than StarClan and she felt blood rush to the tips of her ears and every inch of her body tingle._

_Just the feeling of his body touching hers made her want to fly. He licked her ears with so much love and their eyes met and they stared at one another for a long time._

Honeywing felt a sharp prod in her side. She blinked her eyes open and saw Spiderleg prodding her. "Okay, okay, I'm awake," she muttered. She rose to her paws and padded to the entrance of the den. Spiderleg came up to her and said, "You, Lionclaw and Graystripe are coming with me on the dawn patrol," the black and brown warrior told her. She nodded and began grooming her fur until it was sleek. She saw Lionclaw coming into the camp. She saw how tired he looked and bounded over to him.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she meowed to him.

He looked at her with sleepy eyes. "Hey, Honeywing," he purred. He yawned and stretched. "I can't believe I have to go on the dawn patrol. I'm tired," he mewed. "Hollythorn gets to rest," he muttered, looking over his shoulder at his sister padding into the warriors den.

Honeywing twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Feel like a warrior?" she asked him.

"More like a sleepy warrior," he mewed.

She laughed and purred. He looked at her and said, "It's not funny," in a small laughing tone as if he were laughing at himself.

"Come on, you sleepy fur ball," she meowed, nudging him to turn and head towards Spiderleg and Graystripe. Lionclaw sighed and nodded. Together they bounded over to the two older warriors.

Lionclaw missed three mice and a squirrel, but caught a vole and a shrew and a slow moving starling. Honeywing on the other hand had caught two large squirrels, two mice, a vole, a water shrew and slow rabbit. They had been hunting for a couple hours now.

She padded up to Lionclaw. He seemed to be fully awake now. "Hey, are you okay? You're acting kind of… slow," she mewed.

Lionclaw shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just thinking about the prophecy. Are we still following Leafpool and Jaypaw?" he inquired.

Honeywing nodded. "We should go and find Rainstorm to tell him," she suggested. She saw Lionclaw's pelt bristle a little bit and sighed, but didn't press any further. She just beckoned him to follow her with a flick of her tail.

"Where are you to going?" asked Graystripe, coming up to them.

"Um, we were just going to hunt somewhere near the two-leg nest," Honeywing explained. She saw Graystripe and nod and she and Lionclaw bounded towards the two-leg den.

Honeywing sniffed the air, looking for Rainstorm's scent and caught it instantly. She hesitated before stepping into the unknown territory and whispered, "Rainstorm." No answer.

Suddenly, a cat stepped out of the bushes from behind her. She gasped and spun around, but gave a sigh of relief when she saw it was Rainstorm. He had a starling in his jaws. He put it at his paws. "Sorry I frightened you," the big gray tom meowed.

"Oh, it's okay," she mewed.

Lionclaw suddenly appeared at her side. "Rainstorm," he mewed, dipping his head politely.

"Lionpaw," Rainstorm meowed back.

"Lionclaw," the golden warrior corrected.

Honeywing recognized the tension. It was so think you cut slice it with a claw. She looked from Lionclaw to Rainstorm.

"We're here to talk about the prophecy," she mewed in a serious voice.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Lionclaw looked to Honeywing and then back at the huge gray tom. He narrowed his eyes, but managed not to lash out at Rainstorm. He couldn't trust the large gray cat. However, Honeywing felt comfortable with him, so he tried not to claw his fur off. "We're going to the Moonpool tonight," he reminded Rainstorm.

Rainstorm nodded. "I remember," he mewed. "When shall we leave?" the gray cat asked.

Honeywing looked at Lionclaw and then said, "Let's meet here in an hour. Lionclaw and I will bring you something to eat," she meowed to him. "We'll get hungry on the trip if we don't eat. And we are _not _hunting on another Clan's territory," she meowed.

"I can catch my own prey," Rainstorm told her. "This piece of land beyond the two-leg nest belongs to no Clan right?" he asked.

"Right, so I guess that'll be alright," Honeywing meowed. "Come on, Lionclaw, let's get back to camp," she said and flicked her tail in farewell to Rainstorm.

Lionclaw nodded and bounded after his clan mate.

After they were deep in the forest, Honeywing stopped and turned to look at him. Her eyes were filled with frustration. "Why can't you act a little nicer to Rainstorm?" she asked him.

Lionclaw rolled his eyes. "Honeywing, I didn't snap at him, what more do you want?" he said. He saw her glare at him.

"You may not say it in words that you don't trust him, but your body language and eyes say a lot," she retorted hotly.

"I'm sorry," Lionclaw said reluctantly.

Honeywing looked at him, tilted her head and twitched her whiskers with amusement.

"What?" he asked.

Honeywing shook her head. "Nothing," she murmured. She turned and they bounded back to camp together. Honeywing thought of her dream. She had felt so in love in her dream, but it was so different in real life.

_I guess it's a totally different feeling when the cat likes you back, _Honeywing mentally told herself.

They ate quickly, but enough to last them for the whole night. If the Clan was wondering where they were they'd think of something.

"You ready?" Honeywing asked, coming into the warriors den.

Lionclaw looked away from Birchfall and to Honeywing.

"Ready for what?" Birchfall asked suspiciously.

"Oh, we were going to go patrolling down by the two-leg nest. We caught scent of a cat there yesterday. It was really close by," Honeywing said quickly.

"Oh, well then Thornclaw and I will go with you," Birchfall meowed.

"No!" she blurted out.

"Why not?" the brown tom asked.

Honeywing stammered for a second. "We were going to tag along with Leafpool and Jaypaw when they head towards there. And…." She trailed off and then hatched a brilliant idea in her head.

"Lionclaw and I wanted to go alone," she said in a flirtatious voice. She stepped closer to Lionclaw and gave him a look that said, _Play along!_

"So it's true, you two _are _together?" Birchfall mewed.

Lionclaw was about to say no, but Honeywing butted him in the shoulder before he could say no.

"Y-yeah, is it that obvious?" Honeywing asked. She saw Lionclaw glare at her and she gave him another pleading look to play along.

"It's kind of obvious because you two spend so much time together," Birchfall told them.

"Oh," Honeywing mewed shyly, looking down as though she were embarrassed.

"Well, I guess I should let you two go _patrolling_," Birchfall meowed teasingly. "Oh, but Lionclaw first," he meowed.

Lionclaw followed him outside.

"So you're really into Honeywing?" he asked.

Lionclaw gulped. "Y-yeah, she's great," he said.

"Lucky tom you are then," Birchfall purred, twitching his whiskers in amusement. "Honeywing _is _a great cat. Any tom would be lucky to have her. I hope you appreciate her," Birchfall meowed. "She would die for anyone of us and she deserves someone who will love her," Birchfall added.

Lionclaw felt very uncomfortable and thought about his words. He loved Honeywing as his clan mate and as his friend, but who he was _in _love with Heathertail… but it felt so wrong and he wished he could just get away from his feelings for her.

He thought about Honeywing and all that they had been through. He _did _appreciate her and he agreed about any tom being lucky to have her love, but… he didn't know if he could be that cat.

_I couldn't be that cat. I've made so many mistakes and told so many lies. I would never want to hurt her. And besides, I love… Heathertail, _Lionclaw thought to himself.

"Thanks, Birchfall," he meowed and bounded over to Honeywing who was watching them from inside the warriors den. He glared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Forest. Now," he hissed. Before turning away, he saw her look down at her paws.

"What's wrong?" Honeywing asked him once they were out in the forest.

"Why did you come onto me like that? Why did you tell Birchfall that we were together?" he asked angrily.

"I saw it as the only way to get out alone without telling them about Rainstorm and the prophecy," she told him timidly. "I'm sorry," she added.

Lionclaw was pacing back and fourth. "But now they think together," he said.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "When we come back, we can say that we're not together anymore. We'll say we had a fight and we saw each other in new ways," she told him. She saw him think and nodded after a couple seconds. "Okay?" she asked, stepping forward to get him to look up from his paws and at her.

He lifted his head and nodded, twitching his whiskers.

She shook her and laughed a little bit.

He playfully glared at her.

"You can sometimes still act as stupid as a young apprentice," she teased.

"Hey!" he hissed playfully and lunged at her. He pinned her down, but she wriggled from out of under him. She disappeared and he looked around him. He suddenly heard something behind him and he ducked and Honeywing fell onto the floor in front of him. He instantly pinned her down. "Ha!" he said.

He saw her eyes gleaming with amusement and something else that he recognized, but couldn't quite remember what it was.

They stayed there for a while just looking at each other, each of them thinking about the other. "Lionclaw, I," she began, but then shook her head. "Never mind," she said, getting up.

"What?" he said. "What were you going to say?" he asked.

After a few long seconds, Honeywing said, "Well, Lionclaw, I just…" he voice trailed off as she saw Rainstorm behind Lionclaw.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

"Actually-" Lionclaw said, about to tell him that he was, but was cut off by Honeywing.

"No, you aren't," she meowed.

Honeywing walked past Lionclaw. Their eyes met and she was afraid that he would see the longing in her eyes to tell him that she wanted him.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Have Leafpool and Jaypaw left already?" Rainstorm asked. Honeywing nodded.

"Not long ago, actually," she said.

"We should go after them now," Lionclaw meowed. "We'll be a pretty good distance behind them and still get there about the same time they do," he added.

Honeywing nodded. "Let's go then," she meowed.

With that, the cats headed into WindClan territory. They stayed within a fox length into their territory and after twenty minuets into the journey, Honeywing stopped in her tracks. She flicked her tail, telling the others that WindClan cats were near. "Rainstorm, run ahead and hide," she whispered to the gray tom. He nodded and did as he was told.

Lionclaw flattened his ears when he saw the unwelcoming face of Breezepelt. Along with him were Weaselfur, Nightcloud and Owlwhisker. They all had faces of unwelcome and disapproval of them on their land. Lionclaw let the fur along his spine lay down because he didn't want to pose a threat to any of them.

"What are you doing on WindClan territory, Lionpaw?" asked Breezepelt.

"It's Lion_claw _now," Lionclaw meowed, standing up straight.

Breezepelt glared at him. "Just like you're brother killing father and your Clan destroying grandfather," the black warrior spat.

Lionclaw unsheathed his claws and hissed.

"Come and say that to my face!" Lionclaw challenged.

Nightcloud drew her lip back.

But Breezepelt threw himself at Lionclaw. But before the tom could sink his fangs into Lionclaw, Honeywing threw herself in front of Lionclaw and Breezepelt, full of rage, attacked her.

Lionclaw's eyes blazed with fury. "Get off of her!" he snarled and was about to leap onto him, but Owlwhisker and Nightcloud attacked him. Honeywing and Lionclaw began fighting off the WindClan cats. Lionclaw could see Breezepelt biting deeply into Honeywing's throat and Weaselfur about to score a long claw along her side.

Lionclaw's eyes widened. He knew she wouldn't be able to survive if the ginger WindClan warrior struck her with his claw. He desperately tried to get to her, afraid she would get killed, but couldn't.

Suddenly, Weaselfur was thrown into the grass and Breezepelt was shoved away. Lionclaw recognized Rainstorm. Nightcloud and Owlwhisker backed away from Lionclaw.

Lionclaw got up and rushed to Honeywing's side. "Are you okay?" he asked as she got up.

She nodded. "Yeah, never better," she said jokingly, trying to hide the pain of her wounds.

"You're on our territory!" snarled Owlwhisker.

"We know that!" Lionclaw snarled back.

"We were going to the Moonpool, and you would have known that if you hadn't attacked!" hissed Honeywing.

"I don't think we'll let you pass," Breezepelt said mockingly.

"We need to speak with StarClan," Rainstorm said.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before," Weaselfur meowed.

"Have ThunderClan taken in another outcast?" Nightcloud hissed.

"No!" Rainstorm hissed.

"I'm a ThunderClan warrior," he lied.

"A little large for a regular warrior, aren't you?" Owlwhisker asked.

Rainstorm's fur bristled.

"We need to speak to StarClan," Rainstorm repeated.

"Well you won't get there through WindClan territory," said Nightcloud. Breezepelt flicked his tail in agreement.

Lionclaw saw a look of worry in Honeywing's eyes.

Suddenly, there were dark clouds above them. The grass seemed to shorten and it felt cold.

"That's a sign," murmured Weaselfur.

"So you must let us pass," Honeywing said.

Breezepelt glared at Lionclaw and then at Honeywing.

Lionclaw stepped in front of her protectively. "We'll be going now," he meowed.

He looked at Honeywing and saw that she was glaring at him.

After a long moment of thinking, the WindClan warriors let them pass.

Throughout the whole journey, Honeywing had an angry look on her face.

"Honeywing, did I do something wrong?" he asked her, finally not being able to stand how angry she looked.

"You didn't need to step in front of me as thought I couldn't watch out for myself!" she burst out.

Lionclaw was confused for a second and then mewed, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to make you feel like that," he stammered.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Just… know that I can take care of myself. I've got my warrior name to prove it," she meowed.

"You never let me forget," he muttered.

Rainstorm padded next to Honeywing.

Lionclaw felt more comfortable around him. After all, he did save Honeywing's life. He suddenly felt kind of weird.

_I think I'm falling for her, _Lionclaw thought to himself.

He looked at Honeywing who was talking to Rainstorm, who kept on asking her if the wound on her neck was okay. He felt his fur bristle, but not because he didn't like Rainstorm, but just of jealousy. Lionclaw knew what he had been feeling for the past few moons. He had been falling in love with Honeywing...


End file.
